Fuinjutsu
by Eleature
Summary: A new seal made by Naruto malfunctions when it's challanged by Akatsuki's extraction ritual. Now Naruto has to deal with situations he'd never dreamed of before: a war, a demon attack, Orochimaru, spies and the paradox of his own existence. Timetravel.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

I am looking for a beta reader though. One who will be able to give me good advice on how to improve my story, as well as helping me when I get writing blocks.

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Fuinjutsu

Prologue

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The pain bearing down upon him was excruciation and Naruto very much doubted if he could stand it anymore. In his mind he was cursing both himself, the Kyubi and the Akatsuki, but still mostly himself. He was a twenty year old jounin now. He admitted that he should've been more careful considering who and exactly what he was.

It had been a routine A-rank mission (his first solo mission after gaining his jounin rank) and he had been reckless. He could admit to himself in silent moments when he was alone that he had a problem with being too reckless. Now, with pain wracking his body as foreign chakra tore him apart, he could admit that perhaps one of the reasons he had survived as long as he had was because he'd always had other people to bail him out when it got too heated. The other reason was undoubtedly his otherworldly luck. Regardless, it wasn't an encouraging thought. What kind of future Hokage would he be if he couldn't perform even one solo A-ranked mission on account of his recklessness?

Naruto vowed to do something about his own recklessness if he ever survived this encounter with the Akatsuki.

As Akatsuki's extraction ritual geared up to work at a higher level, he could feel how Kyubi's chakra churned and frothed in agitation and anger inside of him. The pain reached a new level and the last thought to enter his mind before he lost consciousness was a vague hope and a prayer that the new seal he had constructed and placed on himself would work in somehow disabling Akatsuki's ritual.

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When Naruto was seventeen years old, he entered the Chuunin exam for the second time and he passed with flying colours. He also started to study sealing with the help of Jiraiya.

At the time Jiraiya had hinted that it was Naruto's birthright to learn sealing, but Naruto hadn't really been interested. Where was the fun with strange squiggly symbols painted on paper after all? And there were too many things to memorize and learn. At first Naruto adamantly refused to learn and instead began to harass the toad Sannin into teaching him another cool jutsu.

Jiraiya, for once, acted surprisingly mature and decided to entice Naruto into learning sealing in a more circumspect manner than winding him up, or tossing him off a cliff.

The first example Jiraiya gave on exactly why sealing was cool and why Naruto should learn it was the simple explosion seal (normally painted on a piece of paper and used regularly by all ninja). Naruto refused, outright stating that he could accomplish that result with a cool jutsu anyway if only Jiraiya taught it to him. Jiraiya frowned, but didn't give up.

The second example the Sannin used was how sealing could be performed even without painted symbols. He used what had happened during Naruto's first chuunin exam as a more concrete example. Orochimaru had partly sealed and disrupted Naruto's use of chakra during the exam when Naruto had drawn on the Kyubi's chakra to fight. Naruto twitched in interest at the example given, but then (in a manner totally contradicting his supposed inability to think things through) stated that such a technique would require chakra control beyond his abilities (he blamed the constant release of Kyubi's chakra into his system for disrupting his control). Jiraiya sighed and contemplated to tell Naruto that using certain seals could improve his dismal control, but then decided that the explanation would be too complex for the Kyubi container at the moment and instead went at it from a different angle.

Ero-Sannin's third example in his attempt to turn Naruto's view was something he knew would interest his student. He told him about the origins of summoned creatures, and how a proper Seal Master (or Fuinjutsu Master) could attain (and create) new contracts. Normally ninja who had summoning contracts only had one, but with proper knowledge about seals, summoned creatures and the different dimensions of existence a Master could theoretically attain more than one summoning contract. Naruto couldn't hide his interest this time and actually jumped high into the air as he yelled his excitement when he suddenly dropped silently to the ground again with a contemplative expression. In the end he rejected the idea because he didn't really feel that he needed another summoning contract. (Toads were the coolest anyway and they came in orange!)

Wilting slightly after Naruto's multiple rejections Jiraiya finally gave into irritation and yelled loudly at his student that if the Yondaime Hokage hadn't been a Seal Master then he'd never been able to seal the Kyubi as he did. Naruto snapped to attention so suddenly that Jiraiya nearly fell backwards in surprise. Luckily he managed to right his balance before he embarrasses himself in front of his student.

From there on out it went as if in a dream.

It turned out that Naruto was a natural at sealing. Jiraiya often joked to Tsunade about the fact that Naruto tended to be an idiot in everything else he did, but concerning sealing he was genius.

Naruto soaked up the knowledge of sealing like a sponge, and when he was eighteen years old he started to construct a special seal that was designed with Kyubi's chakra in mind. Originally the seal was supposed to regulate Kyubi's chakra integration into Naruto's own coils so that Naruto could perfect his chakra control, but Naruto decided to improve on the concept.

He'd been having trouble with controlling himself if he used too much of Kyubi's chakra and he wished for the seal to be able to control the excess chakra that affected his mind when he drew on the demons' tails.

Naruto went on instinct for the most part as he designed the seal, but allowed himself to be influenced by the concept behind different dimensions and especially how summoned creatures existed beyond time and space as humans knew it. The idea was for the seal to pull the excess chakra from the Kyubi into another time dimension so that it could be absorbed gradually (and slowly) into Naruto's coils over time that Naruto wouldn't experience himself. Theoretically, each time Kyubi's chakra acted up and the output became too much for Naruto's psyche and body to handle, the seal would switch itself on as a fail safe. Excess chakra would be absorbed and integrated into Naruto's coils over time in another dimension so that for Naruto the process wouldn't even last a moment.

Jiraiya encouraged Naruto in his work on the seal, but cautioned him strongly from attempting the seal without years of research. Time and dimension theory was mostly just that and it wouldn't do to finalize anything without proper experimentation and consultation with other Seal Masters. Seals could be hazardous enough without mixing vague theories and assumptions into the mix.

Naruto ignored Jiraiya's advice (command) and finalized and grafted the seal onto himself by the tender age of nineteen, only two years after he'd started his study in sealing.

Jirajya was frantic.

Tsunade, who got wind of it from Jiraiya because he was so frantic that he ratted Naruto out, became livid.

Sakura heard it from Tsunade (when she was yelling her reprimands at Naruto so loudly that it could be heard through the soundproof door) and decided that Naruto needed another lesson about possible consequences that could result from recklessness. She cracked her knuckles loudly and cackled evilly in her mind. The ninja around her edged away from her slowly and with wary expressions on their faces.

Naruto didn't really have a great time in the week following his application of the new seal.

The next week went better.

Once Jiraiya, Tsunade and Sakura had calmed down enough to actually examine the seal and the effect it had on Naruto and the Kyubi, they all grudgingly admitted that everything seemed to be working the way Naruto had intended it. It didn't stop the three from reprimanding the Jinchuuriki for his rash actions, but it did serve to get them to stop their constant worrying over him and the seal.

Naruto quickly forgot about their disapproval and started another seal design. This time he had hopes about creating a seal to counter, or at least completely bind Orochimaru's Curse Seal. He was still determined to bring Sasuke back to Konoha and even if the Uchiha wasn't with Orochimaru any longer (or that weird fusion of the Snake Sannin and Kabuto), he was still partially influenced by the Cursed Seal which contained trace amounts of Orochimaru's own signature chakra.

Besides, he had become good friends with that crazy chuunin exam examiner, Anko, over the last couple of years and he didn't like the thought of the Seal causing her pain at random moments.

In the back of his mind, he also had an idea ticking concerning how Gaara had been revived, Tsunade's super healing seal (as he called it), and the possibility of donating chakra. He hoped to one day make an ultimate healing seal in case he ever got too late to help his friends. Still, he was weary of what he was willing to do or sacrifice for such a technique. He knew playing with life and death was eerily close to what Orochimaru was doing, but Naruto figured he could come up with something that wouldn't bring harm to anyone but himself. Jiraiya noticed Naruto's peculiar maniacal expression and decided that his student had gotten indigestion again.

When he was twenty years old, Naruto passed the jounin exam.

A couple of weeks after that, he was trapped and captured by the Akatsuki during a solo mission.

As the extraction began, Kyubi's chakra rose to the surface as the ritual worked to pull the volatile chakra out of its blonde container.

The members of the Akatsuki couldn't help but be impressed as the blonde Jinchuuriki went through the first stage of the ritual without passing out or screaming from the pain. As they commenced with the second part of the extraction ritual (the part where Kyubi's chakra was supposed to be pulled out of its container – the first part only agitated the chakra and caused it to move more freely within its vessel,) the blonde finally passed out.

A seal foreign to the Akatsuki flashed into sudden existence and then, in a white flash of light bright enough to blind everyone watching, the blonde jounin was suddenly gone. Only his clothes and head-band were left behind to be found by the puzzled (and furious) group of criminals.

A pair of red eyes tightened, sharingan swirling.

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Naruto woke to a world of aches and pains shooting through his body.

Groaning, he carefully rolled from his back and onto his stomach so that he could begin the painstaking effort of rising himself from the surface he was lying on. His muscles quivered under the strain as he used his arms to push himself up and as his eyes finally opened, he barely had the presence of mind to process exactly what his eyes were telling his brain.

One. He was under ground, or at least in a very dark, cavernous, humid place. He wondered briefly if this was what Hell was like, but then he recognized (in the vague light emanating from some kind of weird glowing fungus glowing on the cave walls) the Big-Ugly-Statue-of-Doom that the Akatsuki used to contain the youkai chakra that they extracted from the various bijou that they captured.

He did a quick double take at that.

Two. He noticed that the Akatsuki were nowhere to be seen and he wondered where they were a brief moment before he decided to not question his (amazing, godlike luck) blessings.

Three. As he finally managed to regain his feet, he noticed that he was naked.

Naruto briefly considered what would happen if the Akatsuki came back while he was standing there buck naked and decided (after a couple of decidedly unpleasant scenarios ran through his mind) to make a run for it.

On the way out of the huge cave (or what Naruto presumed to be the way out) he noticed small signs of humans having visited recently, but not as recently as if there'd just been performed a major ritual there. This in turn led him to wonder how long he had been unconscious and what had happened while he was out cold.

Deciding to think about it later, Naruto finally drew to a stop as a huge block of rock blocked the way out of the cave. Remembering the area from the time they had rescued Gaara, he could imagine the enormous rock-gate guarding the entrance to the cave in addition to the seals securing it from unwanted entrance.

He briefly lamented Sakura not being there this time to knock the gate down with her super strength, but then decided to use what he'd originally meant to use the first time he came across the gate.

Focusing chakra to his right hand he was surprised to notice that nothing happened. He couldn't understand this because he'd perfected the Rasengan years ago when on an extended training trip with Ero-Sannin.

"What the hell?" He muttered frustrated to the still air as he focused harder in a second attempt.

After ten long and torturous minutes of trying he finally gave up in order to think the problem through. Could Akatsuki's ritual have been successful? Had they robbed him of all his chakra including the Kyubi's? If they did, why wasn't he dead? But no, he couldn't feel any signs of chakra exhaustion. In fact, he could feel his chakra flowing freely through his channels in a way he'd never noticed so clearly before. So what was the problem?

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Naruto decided to slow down as he travelled through the trees in the direction of Konoha. He was still many days away from his goal, but for once he didn't mind the extra time he had to think. What had happened in Akatsuki's cave had surprised him in a way nothing ever had before. He hadn't been able to channel chakra outside his body at all and in the end he had resorted to different variations of seals drawn in chakra-infused blood to get him out of the cave.

He couldn't understand what was happening to his chakra. The Akatsuki had certainly done something to him while he was captured by them. The only thing left now was to find out what they did, and why they let him go.

As the evening finally started to draw to a close and the night began to make its way into the world around him, Naruto finally decided to stop for the day. He had been running ever since he'd escaped and had only stopped briefly to pilfer a set of clothes from a lonely farm he'd passed on the way. Normally he'd never resort to thievery, but he figured he had a good excuse just this once. The evidence being that he had neither clothes nor money to get new ones.

Naruto settled down in a clearing next to a steam that provided ample opportunity for fresh water both to drink and bathe in. It was as he stripped off his clothes that he in the waning light noticed something irregular about the seals on his stomach.

The first irregularity being that one of the seals was actually showing. And it wasn't the seal of Kyubi he was thinking about either. The black loops and swirls from the new seal he'd grafted onto himself stood out in stark contrast to the relative paleness of his own skin.

Frowning in consternation, Naruto tried to find an explanation for the occurrence. Normally the seal should only be showing if it was in use, much in the same way Kyubi's seal showed up when he focused his chakra to it. For it to be showing now, it had to be in effect. What really stumped Naruto was that Kyubi's seal should also be in effect if the secondary seal was. For Kyubi's seal to be dormant while the secondary was in effect, either something serious was wrong with Kyubi, himself or the seals.

Naruto hoped to Kami that Yondaime's seal wasn't defective after Akatsuki's stunt. For all that he had lived with the Kyubi for twenty years; he'd still never want to meet the creature without the restraint the seal provided. Kyubi really was as vicious, sadistic and bloodthirsty as the villagers had made him out to be. There was a reason that Naruto had been desperate enough to craft a new and untested seal unto himself without even testing it first…

Gathering his own wandering thoughts, Naruto made a quick check of the area before he was confident enough to lower his guard for what he was about to do.

Over the years he'd spent training with Jiraiya, Naruto had been taught specific exercises in meditation to be able to check up on Yondaime's seal and the Kyubi at any given point. The only drawback in the discipline was the loss of situational awareness that followed as he was dragged into his mindscape. This necessitated the technique to be used only when he could regard it as a relatively safe area.

Sitting down underneath a tree surrounded by thick shrubbery, Naruto finally allowed his guard to relax as he regulated his breathing and drew his thoughts inwards.

It seemed like no time at all before he found himself wandering the corridors of his mind. He noticed at once that the _feel_ of the place was different from before, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was at the moment. Shrugging his metaphorical shoulders, Naruto began to move in the direction of where he knew Kyubi and the seal to be located.

As he drew nearer to his destination, his unease rose as the distance became shorter. The difference that he couldn't quite pin down unsettled him something awful and he slowed his pace in case something really was terribly wrong with the seal. What if he was walking right into a trap? What if the terrible nine-tails was free and was biding its time on the other side of the dark door in front of him?

Naruto stopped as these thoughts occurred to him and the promise he'd made while he had been captured by the Akatsuki came to mind.

_Don't be reckless! You remember what happened the last time you acted before thinking._

Naruto acknowledged the thought and began to go over what he knew as he studied the door in front of him, as well as the surrounding corridor for the vital clue to tell him what the difference he was sensing was.

He'd been captured by the Akatsuki.

He'd lost consciousness as the ritual they preformed intensified.

He'd woken up (naked) in an empty cave used as a hideout for criminals.

He could feel and sense his chakra, but not use it outside of his body.

The secondary seal was in effect while the primary was not.

Something was different in his mindscape.

He couldn't sense the Kyubi's presence beyond the door.

Naruto did a double take.

He couldn't sense the Kyubi's presence beyond the door?

_What the fuck?_

Naruto started in realization as it finally occurred to him what was different about his mindscape.

Before when he'd visited the place, the Kyubi's presence had been saturating the corridors of his mindscape. The foul red chakra of the demon fox had been mixed in with his own chakra in the chakra coils represented as pipes that ran along the walls and ceiling of the corridors. Not only that, but there'd also been an oppressive quality to the atmosphere in the corridors. No doubt a result of the Kyubi's presence at the end of the door leading to the seal-room.

Now though, all evidence of the Kyubi being there were gone. The red chakra that at one time filtered in to his chakra coils was gone, and the atmosphere of the place was far from oppressive. It was unnaturally neutral. Naruto had never experienced anything like it before.

Studying the pipes running to and from the room he was about to enter, Naruto could sense nothing of the demons presence at all. He'd never before believed that the loss of Kyubi's presence would be unnerving. It was. The chakra coils he could see were filled with clear, bright chakra, but still, there was something off. Nothing bad exactly, only…

Fed up with the stand still, Naruto finally acted on his reckless nature as he took a step forwards and opened the door. He was relatively sure that he wouldn't be harmed. He doubted that the Kyubi would be able to suppress its enormous amount of chakra with him standing only a foot away from the door. No, something else was going on, and he was about to find out exactly what theta was.

Nothing could've prepared him for what he saw when he entered the seal-room.

Gasping in shock and surprise, Naruto froze as he stared at the scene in front of him.

It was bright.

It was huge.

It was unbelievably complex.

It was all complete chaos.

A mess of chakra coils mixed up in a disarray he'd never seen before, or even imagined. Distantly, he finally realized why he was having trouble with channelling his chakra.

There were no signs of either the Kyubi or Yondaime's seal anywhere. The huge cage that had once represented Kyubi's imprisonment was simply gone. In its place was an enormous, glowing ball of chakra coils (or pipes). They were twisting and turning in what could only be described as chaos incarnated. Some even had knots on them, seriously hindering the chakra from flowing freely. And through it all, surrounding the whole mess in a surprisingly elegant and systematic design, was the representation of the secondary seal that Naruto himself had designed and grafted.

The black swirls and symbols of the seal completely covered the area around the chaotic ball of chakra coils. Some of the black lines were clearly acting as conductors for the chakra, leading some of the pipes away from the huge ball and to the door leading into the corridors. Other lines seemed to be constricting the ball of chakra coils to the centre of the room, keeping the chaos from spreading. Most of the lines and symbols though, seemed to be saturated with chakra, hard at work in neutralizing and purifying all of the chakra both going into, and out of the room.

Naruto was baffled.

Seeing the chaos in front of him, it was a miracle he was alive at all. The chakra pathways and the chakra gates were very sensitive. The smallest disruption could lead to disaster. An example could be how the Hyuuga clan used their taijutsu to disrupt and disable their opponents by closing off their chakra points.

With this amount of chaos in his chakra coils, Naruto was surprised that he was alive at all, let alone able to move. It was no wonder at all that he couldn't channel his chakra outside his body. That he'd been able to use chakra saturated blood to make seals in order to escape was nothing short of miraculous.

In order to be able to fully use his chakra again, Naruto would have to straighten out his chakra coils. The problem being that this would take no small amount of time. He'd also have to figure out what caused the problem initially, but he could already venture a few guesses to the cause of his problem.

If he understood the theory behind Akatsuki's ritual correctly, then it was supposed to bring the bijou's chakra to the surface and then rip it out of the container.

Naruto allowed himself a brief moment of pride and grim humour when he realized that his seal had worked. Perhaps not exactly the way he had intended, but it had worked… to the extent that he was still alive and sane, and in the sense that the Kyubi was neither free nor captured by the Akatsuki.

Obviously something had happened when the seal had been challenged with integrating all of Kyubi's chakra at once. Theoretically it should've been able to handle an infinite amount of chakra because the chakra was brought to an alternate time dimension as it was converted, but something had obviously gone wrong.

Naruto had to find out exactly what had gone wrong before he tried to fix the mess that was his chakra coils. He couldn't afford to do anything else as the smallest mistake could lead to his death. Until he figured everything out, he'd have to manage with using jutsu and techniques that based themselves on chakra bound to his body or blood.

Luckily for him, this meant that he'd be able to use seals.

Letting himself return to the waking world, Naruto wondered briefly what had happened to the Akastuki for them to have left the cave before he woke up, but the thought was quickly lost as the exhaustion of the day caught up with him and he finally fell asleep.

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After a good night's sleep, Naruto had resolved that Konoha was still the best place for him to go. He needed a second, or maybe even a third opinion on what had happened to his seal. Logically, he therefore needed to find both Tsunade and Jiraiya. He knew that as a Hokage, Tsunade was to be found in the village. Jiraiya was a bit trickier because he travelled around so much, but Naruto figured that Tsunade could either send for the old pervert, or at the very least, give him some clue as to where to look for him.

It was as he drew nearer and nearer to the border of the Fire Country that Naruto began to notice differences from how it had been a few weeks ago when he travelled out to start his mission.

Before, the border had been relatively well guarded by checkpoints and guard stations placed along the main roads leading towards the hidden village and the capital city. Chuunin, with a few jounin leading them, usually patrolled the forest between each checkpoint in random patterns.

Now though, the security seemed a lot tighter and the border where the patrols travelled seemed to have been moved farther away from both the village and the capital.

Naruto frowned as he finally came across a patrol made up of chuunin wearing the Konoha headband. He chose not to reveal himself to them at once. First he wanted to see if he could get some clues about the change in border patrols by spying on them.

For the border to be patrolled as securely as it was, something important had to have happened while he was a way. His first guess would've been that the Old Hag leading the village had found out about Akastuki capturing him, thus forcing her to tighten the security, but something about that theory simply didn't ring true.

Something strange was going on.

The atmosphere and the way the chuunin patrol held themselves spoke of an experience and a tenseness to their situation that told Naruto that whatever the threat was, it had been a threat for longer than a few weeks.

Naruto hid himself high up in a tree branch where the leaves were particularly thick and good as cover from roving eyes searching from the ground. He on the other hand didn't have any troubles in observing the group of chuunin on the ground.

As one of the chuunin finally spoke, Naruto had to strain his hearing to be able to pick up the words. It seemed as if the group was on the alert for possible eavesdroppers. Naruto very much doubted that he would've been able to hear anything at all if not for the Kyubi having improved his hearing years ago. As it was, he still had to resort to reading lips when some of the words were only mimed by the speaker.

"Are there any news from HQ yet?" The chuunin asking the question seemed to be around Iruka's age. He was dressed in the standard uniform with the normal green chuunin west. He seemed experienced, an observation that stood in contrast to both the weariness he was displaying and the nervousness he let show.

Naruto frowned again. Hoping to high heavens that nothing worse than the Akatsuki or Orochimaru was after Konoha. Nothing good could be about if the Hokage had let her shinobi get so exhausted as to be showing it when on a standard patrol mission. But then again, he'd already suspected that this wasn't a standard patrol mission.

The silence from the group of chuunin was quickly broken when one of the older in the group – probably the leader – finally answered the question.

"Yes. We got word yesterday that the Sandaime would be sending a relief force as soon as possible. We can be expecting to be exchanged sometime today or tomorrow."

The information brought obvious relief to the rest of the group. One of the chuunin – he looked to be the youngest – even muttered a weak, but relief filled "finally".

"We still have to keep out guard up until they arrive though." The leader spoke again before anyone else could say something. "There's no telling when Stone will attempt something. We've been on high alert for two months now, ever since the spies found out about Iwa's plans. We still don't know when Iwa will attempt anything."

Many of the group nodded, while others only sighed in weariness.

Naruto stilled completely at what he had heard. Stone was attempting something? And the Hokage had known for two months?

_Wait!_

_The Sandaime?_

Naruto froze further. What the hell were they talking about? The Sandaime had been dead ever since Naruto's first chuunin exam and that had been years ago. He was about to reveal himself to the patrol and demand to know exactly _what_ was going on when the smallest shift in the air around him warned him that he wasn't alone on the branch anymore.

It was only pure luck that saved him from the kunai aimed at his jugular vein.

He'd been so absorbed and focused on the conversation from the patrol group that he'd completely blocked out anything else.

_Damn my recklessness!_ He cursed as he pushed away and fell from the branch and his would be attacker.

He wasn't out of the woods yet so to speak. In fact, he was reasonably sure that his situation had just gotten worse. If Konoha really was on high alert, he'd just escaped from his attacker to land in the middle of a group of allies that wouldn't think twice about skewering him when he couldn't prove that he came from Konoha since he'd lost his forehead protector.

And he was without the use of his regular jutsu repertoire too.

_Well fuck!_

Twisting in midair to land securely on the ground, Naruto didn't even wait a moment before he sprang into action.

Even without the use of Kage Bunshin, Rasengan or other jutsu, he was still a jounin and he should be able to survive the experience if he acted fast.

Just as he'd completed a simple backwards jump over the group of surprised chuunin – after pilfering a kunai from the youngest one – Naruto felt the near unnoticeable arrival of someone appearing behind him again and he froze with his newly acquired kunai ready to attack the unknown assailant behind him as the cool feel of enemy steel caressed his neck in preparation for an equally swift death.

_Fast!_ Was the only thought he could complete as he struggled to control both his swift breathing and the reflex to attempt an attack to get away again. Naruto was reasonably sure that the person he was holding at kunai point – and who was returning the favour – was the same one that had attacked him in the tree branch. Which ultimately meant that the unknown assailant was most probably from Konaha too since he followed Naruto down to the patrol. Either that or he was good enough to not worry about being able to defeat the group of chuunin after he'd finished Naruto off.

Naruto wasn't quite sure which of the possibilities he found most disconcerting.

He vaguely noticed that the group of patrolling chuunin had frozen too and everybody in the area seemed to be at a standstill.

The silence and standstill continued. None of them moving anything except their eyes as Naruto's breathing finally began to even out. Any movement made now would be interpreted as hostile and everybody knew it.

After an unknown amount of time, a new sound but the sound of forcefully restrained breathing could be heard by the frozen group.

Naruto detected it first, but couldn't really acknowledge the possible new danger at the moment beyond a quick flickering in his eyes.

The silent sound of leaves being disturbed by swift movements could be interpreted as two persons nearing the group of ninja. And farther behind, louder and more destructive, Naruto could hear yet another arrival.

The newcomers were relatively small by how loudly their feet impacted the ground and branches they travelled over. Either that or they were jounin good enough to regulate their impact by the use of chakra. Naruto doubted it though. The last person in the entourage hardly sounded like a jounin in the way he moved, and from his knowledge of how Konoha teams operated (if his guesses up until now were correct), he'd guess that the new arrivals were a three-man team with the person holding Naruto at kunai point as their sensei.

_Probably the group that was supposed to relieve the patrol group I spied on. What a drag for them to arrive now of all times. _As an after thought he added; _I hate my luck._

When the two nearest new comers finally made it to the area where the stand still was, they quickly read the situation and landed silently behind Naruto and the one holding him as kunai point. They were obviously awaiting orders.

The standstill continued.

…Until the last arrival finally made his way loudly into the small clearing.

"Hey, you two! Wait up! Sensei could you tell…" He broke off suddenly as he finally noticed the volatile situation he'd walked in on.

_What an idiot._ Naruto thought to himself in irritation. Then, more fondly;_ he reminds me of myself an awful lot._

"Wh-what's going on?"

The last arrival had had a young, uncertain voice, but not one Naruto recognized. Which was strange in itself, seeing as Naruto made it his personal duty to talk to and get to know everyone in the younger generations.

"S-sensei?"

Naruto suddenly felt sorry for the newest arrival. He could vividly imagine how he'd react himself when he was younger if he ever walked in on a situation where Kakashi-sensei was being held at kunai point in a standstill.

When he was younger, he'd been in awe of Kakashi's abilities. He'd thought him untouchable and he'd had many wakeup calls during his childhood as Team 7 regularly ended up in more and more dangerous situations. The first of which had been the fight with the Demon of the Mist when Kakashi had been captured in a water cage made by the missing-nin Zabuza.

He'd hated it when he'd seen his sensei vulnerable.

Finally making his choice with a mental sigh, Naruto relaxed his muscles and dropped the kunai. He only hoped that the show of good will would give him the benefit of the doubt when the nin surrounding him decided what they would do with him.

It would be a shame if he was killed by his own allies after all.

He didn't even notice it as a specific pressure point was hit and he lost consciousness.

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When he woke up, the sun had already set and night had begun. He couldn't see the moon through the thick canopy of leaves so he gave up on his attempt to further determine the time.

It was as he reflexively attempted to stretch his muscles that he noticed that he was tied up.

_Well, great. Not that I wasn't expecting it, but still…_

Trying to determine if he'd be able to escape the bindings, he finally had to give up as he admitted that no-one less than a jounin had tied the knots holding him.

_What now then?_

Looking around, he barely made out the form of a short dark figure standing guard with his back turned towards Naruto. He obviously didn't have any worries about Naruto escaping or attacking him, as Naruto was tied to a tree trunk.

Still, Naruto would've liked to criticize the person for turning his back to a potential enemy. In the end, he couldn't really be bothered.

The night passed in silence. Naruto didn't reveal any signs that he was awake and the guard never turned around. When Naruto didn't keep himself occupied with meditating on his seal, he went over all the information he'd heard that day as he waited for the rest of the guard's team to show up. He'd already reasoned out that they'd left on a nightly patrol. The other group of chuunin had probably already returned to Konoha, probably delivering the news of Naruto appearance too.

The rest of the guard's team finally arrived when dawn began to break.

Naruto didn't even try to hide that he was awake as two small forms and a taller form made their way into the clearing where this new patrol had decided to make camp for the night. What he saw, or rather _who_ he thought he saw, made it impossible for Naruto to hide his surprise and try to fake sleep.

The first one to enter the clearing was a young girl with marks on her cheeks denoting her as an Inuzuka. This didn't really surprise Naruto though (apart from the fact that he was sure that he'd never seen her before). No, what surprised Naruto was the second and third person that entered the camp.

Naruto was sure that he'd seen the other two persons before. The problem being that he'd only seen one of them depicted as a giant face on the Hokage Mountain, and the other as a much older, lazy, perverted, sharingan-wielding sensei.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat.

_What's going on here?_

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A/N: Well, there you have the prologue. I hope I've caught your interest and I apologize for the lack of dialogue. I know it may seem boring to read through so much text when there's nearly no dialogue to be found, but this was only the prologue. I hope to add more dialogue in the coming chapters. Please tell me if something is unclear (though I may not answer depending on if it will ruin the plot).

Other than that, I'd like to advertise my need for a beta reader again. Please just send me an e-mail (or a review) if you're interested. It would be preferable if you're well versed in the newer episodes (or the resent manga) of Naruto. In addition, you should be good at detecting spelling mistakes.

Thanks!

Eleature

Edited 10.09.07: The linebreaks didn't show up so I've tried using something else. I've also fixed some spelling mistakes that I noticed, and I've fixed the spelling of Jiraiya's name (previously I worte a mix of both Jirajya and Jirayja --; doh!). I should have the next chapter up by friday, or maybe even earlier than that.


	2. Accords

Chapter 1.

010101010

After dismissing the young, unknown and dark-haired chuunin that had been guarding the camp, the team's sensei – _the Yondaime! It's the fucking Yondaime!_ Naruto's brain yelled – finally turned his attention to the fully awake Naruto.

With all the strange thoughts running through Naruto's mind, he was distantly impressed with himself for managing to keep his cool as well as he did.

And looking at the blonde shinobi walking towards him, it was like watching a legend coming back to life again.

Naruto, like all of his generation had grown up with stories of how great the Yondaime was. He'd been the Hokage who'd willingly given away his soul to save his village. You simply couldn't help but feel respect for an individual like that. And not only that, but the Yondaime was also known as the Yellow Flash; war hero from the Third Secret World War. Lastly, the Yondaime was the person Naruto had worked his whole life to surpass.

At this realization, Naruto's thoughts screeched to a halt again.

_I managed to get to a standstill with the Yellow Flash!_ His mind screamed at him. Naruto blinked to give himself time to process the thought. _I managed to get to a standstill with the Yondaime! Konoha's Yellow Flash!_ Suddenly his lifelong goal didn't seem so far away and impossible anymore.

And Naruto was reasonably sure that this really was the Yondaime in front of him, and not some elaborate genjutsu cast by his enemies to trick him. After all, for whatever logical reason would any of Naruto's enemies conjure up an image of the deceased Yondaime and Naruto's own sensei turned child again? What would the purpose be?

Naruto was an experienced enough shinobi to not let simple mind-games get to him. No, this was something bigger. Something tied into all the weirdness he'd experienced since he'd woken up after Akatsuki's failed ritual.

_Well damn, _Naruto's mind finally settled down as he came to a conclusion concerning his predicament. _This person in front of me really is the Yondaime Hokage. Those twerps over there are really Kakashi and his team, and I really did manage a standstill with the Yellow Flash. Damn I really am great!_ Was the self-satisfied conclusion.

If he hadn't been tied down, he'd have done a victory dance at his achievement concerning the young Yondaime in front of him. _Or is that future Yondaime? Seeing as those chuunin earlier were talking about the Sandaime as if he still was the Hokage…_ Deciding to ponder that later, Naruto quickly changed the topic of his thoughts as the blonde (jounin?) in front of him came to a stop a respectable distance from the tied up former demon container.

_Somehow I've travelled back to the past._ Naruto concluded as all the facts finally came together. The living Yondaime Hokage was standing in front of him. The young Kakashi (Kami how weird to even think that) was standing somewhere behind his sensei. The Akatsuki were gone when he woke up, but had obviously been in the cave at some point in time (Naruto highly doubted that they'd leave him alone in the cave if they knew he was there). There was some kind of conflict going on between Konoha and Iwa that had lasted for at least two months.

From all this, Naruto could only conclude that he'd somehow ended up in the past sometime right after, or right before the Third Secret World War broke out for full. Maybe he hadn't really paid attention to the history lessons at the academy (and how he regretted this now), but he had lived as a shinobi for some years now and he'd managed to pick _something_ up by having people like Sakura, Hinata, Shikamaru and Shino as friends.

"The seal…" he murmured to himself, completely forgetting that he had a damned good shinobi in front of him who would be able to hear him.

"What was that?"

At the sharp, clear voice directed at him (with no small amount of anger and maybe even irritation), Naruto snapped to attention faster than you could blink, but all he could think about was how strange it was to finally hear the Yondaime's voice. It wasn't at all how he had imagined it. He'd always imagined it to be heroically commanding with a mix of aristocracy mingling into the speech. Maybe even like a mix between how the Godaime and the Head of the Hyuuga Clan spoke. Instead the voice was commanding (and it really was commanding!), clear and musical in a way. Like the speaker was more used to laughing and joking than speaking seriously. Naruto could best describe it as a mix between how Jiraiya spoke and how the Sandaime spoke.

He found it to be oddly disconcerting and reassuring at the same time. The thought that the Yondaime wasn't serious and heroic all the time – but maybe more of a humorist – kind of made him seem more of a human being, as opposed to the untouchable legend he would become. In a strange way the realization reassured Naruto. Somewhere, in his subconscious, he'd maybe always thought that he wouldn't cut it as a Hokage with the way he acted and looked at life. All the Kages he'd known or met (the Sandaime, Tsunade, Gaara and even Orochimaru (though he was a fucking lowlife who didn't deserve the title at all)) were always so serious in their work. Even the Sandaime, who sometimes took time out of his work to eat and chuckle at Naruto's antics, was always sombre and serious when it came to matters concerning the village. Naruto hadn't really wanted that for himself when he became a Hokage. He'd wanted to be able to be both serious and humoristic when it came to matters concerning the village.

Considering his distraction, it was no wonder that all Naruto managed to get out as a response to the Yondaime's question was a confused "huh?"

Unfortunately, this only seemed to aggravate the blonde in front of him further.

Blinking rapidly in slight surprise as Naruto read the expression of his captor, he quickly smiled disarmingly and somewhat sheepishly. If he hadn't been tied down, he would've been scratching his neck in embarrassment. As it was, he had to make due with what he had.

"Eh-heh-heh. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. Lost in my own thoughts you know?" Naruto dearly hoped he was believed. It was the truth after all.

The Yondaime looked sceptical, but somewhat mollified.

"You could get killed by not paying attention in the presence of enemies," the blonde finally said with a piercing gaze directed at Naruto.

Naruto twitched, but wouldn't allow himself to show any other sign that the Yondaime's words meant anything to him. Besides, Naruto reasoned; _it's not like _I_ see the Yondaime and his team as enemies. _They_ are the ones feeling threatened by_ me.

The Yondaime didn't give him time do answer, and Naruto didn't really mind seeing as he had nothing to say at the moment. For once, he was cautious about his own actions and words. After all, if he really was in the past, then there was no way to tell what sort of chaos a careless word or action could bring to the future. No, he was resolved to play the situation carefully until he had time to think about his predicament. Only then would he decide how to deal with his situation. He only hoped that he lived long enough to come to a decision at all.

"You mentioned a seal. What were you talking about?"

The Yondaime finally broke him out of his musings and Naruto blinked. _What kind of question is _that_? Shouldn't he be interrogating me about my allegiance to Konoha or Iwa? Or at the very least find out what my name is?_

"Seal?" Naruto asked in a confused voice, hoping to buy enough time to find out which direction the Yondaime was going with his questions. _Well, he was a Fuinjutsu Master. Ero-Sannin said so himself,_ Naruto finally reasoned. _Maybe he's just curious about new seals, or possible seals the enemy may have._

Seeing the foreboding expression on the Yondaime's face, Naruto quickly deliberated what to do. It was obvious that his interrogator was expecting an answer soon.

…_Well what the heck. It's not like it could hurt my situation anymore. The seal I made was totally innovative. There's no way I'll be able to ruin anything just by showing it to the Yondaime. And maybe,_ he added as he made himself ready to give a very basic and abbreviated (and even false) explanation of his predicament of the seal,_ maybe he'll even be able to give me some help, or at least some tips as to what may help me._

"Well, it's like this," Naruto began as he saw that he'd finally pressed the Yondaime's patience to its limit. "Someone placed this seal on me and then someone else did something that made it totally mess up my chakra coils. I was travelling to Konoha in hopes of getting a second opinion on the seal from the Seal Masters living in the village." Gauging the Yondaime's expression, Naruto decided that he seemed curious enough for him to go on. "I didn't know that there was a conflict going on between Konoha and Iwa." He tried to explain. If the altercations had only been going on for two months now, then it was a safe bet that not everybody knew about it yet, weather they were civilians or ninja.

The Yondaime's eyes tightened, but he didn't say anything as he nodded for Naruto to continue his explanation.

Naruto tried to scratch his head while he thought, but the rope holding him kind of ruined his attempt, so he gave a sheepish smile before he continued again.

"Well, I was on my way to the village when I came across the chuunin patrol, and I was about to show myself to them when you came and scared the crap out of me," Naruto finished with an embarrassed cough.

The Yondaime's eyes tightened again as he deliberated Naruto's words, before he finally said something.

"And where is this mysterious seal of yours located?"

Naruto blinked guilelessly. "On my stomach," he answered in an honest and clear voice.

Yondaime held his gaze as he checked Naruto over as if he was dubious to the whole tale. Inwardly Naruto winced as he couldn't really blame him. Most, but not all of what he had said was true after all.

"That's an unusual place for a seal to be grafted."

Naruto was about to answer when he was interrupted by the sudden and silent appearance of the young Kakashi. He said some quick, silent words to his sensei before he disappeared just as quickly as he had come. Naruto didn't miss the sudden tenseness in the Yondaime as he turned back to face Naruto.

"It seems we've run out of time." He said urgently and silently as he regarded Naruto with wary eyes. "I don't trust you at all, so please forgive my actions if I'm wrong."

With that said, he was gone before Naruto could utter the baffled "huh?" that was on the tip of his lips. Naruto quickly noticed that the rest of the team and all their equipment were gone too.

_What the hell? Did they just leave me helpless in a possible hostile area?_ Was the incredulous thought that entered Naruto's mind.

It didn't take long for Naruto to pick up the near imperceptible sounds of a group of approaching nin.

_Well fuck. _Naruto thought. _Judging by how fast Yondaime and his team disappeared too, these people are not friendly._ Struggling frantically with his bonds, Naruto mentally promised to beat the crap out of his idol if he managed to get out of this situation alive.

He didn't really have many options, if he had any at all that is. Whoever had tied him down had done an excellent job of it and as long as he didn't have any access to his jutsu, then he was helpless in the situation he found himself in now. When he wasn't tied down, he'd at least had the option of managing with taijutsu and speed.

Stilling his movements in the hope that the approaching group would pass him by, Naruto focused on calming his breathing and hiding any chakra that may have signalled his whereabouts. With how tightly his chakra was tied to his body though, he kind of doubted that it was possible to sense it unless direct body contact was added to the equation. Still, it didn't hurt to be on the safe side.

As the approaching group got closer and closer, Naruto very much doubted that they'd miss him in their search. They'd probably found some unhidden tracks left by Yondaime's team.

He was proved correct in his assumption when a sudden silence signalled that the group had stopped just beyond his sight.

Mentally cursing, and knowing that he'd been seen, Naruto began to wriggle around more fervently, intent on biting though the rope if he had to. It was no use though. The rope tied him to the tree trunk from the behind and there was no slack to work with. The only result of Naruto's valiant attempt to get away was that he chafed his wrists up until they began to bleed lightly.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A sinister voice suddenly sounded from the trees.

Naruto froze and turned his head towards the area where the voice had come from, hoping to high heavens that Yondaime was still around with his team. It could be possible if the Yondaime had decided to use Naruto as bait for the approaching group.

It seemed that someone else in the group might think so too, as an irritated voice suddenly broke through the gloating of the first one.

"Shut up, you idiot! Don't you find it suspicious at all that we came across an abandoned and tied up person here in the middle of the forest bordering on Konoha's territory? This reeks of a trap to me."

"Yeah!" Yet another voice joined in, and now Naruto could clearly see three persons slowly making their way towards him while on the lookout for anything suspicious. "Lets just kill him as quickly as we can and get out of here. He's not our mission, but now that he's seen us, we have to silence him."

The two others nodded grimly as one of the three drew a kunai.

Naruto tensed and opted to try to buy more time.

"Oi, Assholes! What do you think you're doing at Konoha's border anyway? You're all from Iwa right? Do you have any papers allowing you entrance?"

Okay, Naruto conceded as the group started chuckling in amusement, so maybe resorting to standard shinobi protocol when encountering suspicious characters at the border wasn't the smartest move to make when _he_ was the one weapon-less and tied up. Still, he mused, as he noticed that one of them was about to retort. He'd learned long ago that people often had a bad habit of saying more than they should when they were confident in their own victory. The fact that he'd just amused them immensely was just a plus. They were more likely to humour him now.

"You're quite confident for a pig about to be slaughtered" The one holding the kunai said.

Naruto made a non-committing sound at the back of his throat.

The goon with the kunai took it as a sign to continue.

_Kami, these people are stupid._ Naruto couldn't help but think to himself. It even occurred to him that if he managed to get one of them close enough, he might even be able to pilfer a kunai too. That would always be a huge plus, so he decided to see how close he could get them to come. Maybe he could even enrage them enough to want to slit his throat up close in stead of just throwing the kunai at him. _Hmm… now that sounds like a plan. _After all, Uzumaki Naruto was a master in annoying and enraging people. Maybe he could use it to his own advantage for once.

The one with the kunai took a step closer as he continued to talk. They all seemed to have forgotten that they might be walking into a trap.

"It doesn't matter to me if I tell you or not," Kunai-goon (as Naruto dubbed him) said. "You're going to die anyway after all."

They all roared in laughter.

Naruto had to concentrate really hard to keep from rolling his eyes. _Have they forgotten already that they're illegally entering a controlled border?_

"You see," Kunai-goon continued, "Konoha's not all that it's cracked up to be. It's grown weak over the years and Iwa has finally decided to do something about it. You wouldn't know this as you're a civilian, but we've managed to get several high ranking spies into Konoha's forces and now we're nearly ready to steal and decimate Konoha's only remaining strengths. We're making our way to Konoha so that we can meet up with some of our spies."

Naruto allowed his eyes to widen in what he hoped looked like fear and surprise as he regarded the three approaching Iwa-nin.

"Spies?" He allowed his voice to sound incredulous. "There'd never be any spies in Konoha. It's the greatest village ever, and no-one would even think about betraying their Hokage." Naruto hoped that he wasn't laying his act on too thick, he was far from the clueless looking genin he'd been years ago, but he'd been told by Hinata that he was an amazing actor anyway and acting was all he had to go on at the moment.

The approaching nin laughed again as they shook their heads in what passed as indulgence for them. "You're a fool Blondie. It's obvious that you're a civilian. Amongst us shinobi you always have to look underneath the underneath."

Naruto's eyes tightened imperceptibly. Kunai-goon was nearly close enough now, only a few more steps were needed.

Snorting and throwing his head away arrogantly, Naruto aimed his insult at the one with the Kunai. "You're the one that doesn't know what you're talking about. You Iwa-nin are infamous for using quantity over quality. There's no way you'd be able to beat Konoha even if you have spies." He declared confidently. Tauntingly.

_Hook, line and sinker._

Naruto's eyes glinted as the Kunai-goon lunged at him in anger, and with swiftness he didn't know he possessed, Naruto angled a leg up to kick the kunai out of the shinobi's hand.

He had to act fast now before any of them managed to collect themselves from the surprise-attack.

Everything happened in a blur after that.

Just as Naruto managed to catch the kunai in his mouth, he felt the hair at the back of his neck stand as an instinct he hadn't really acknowledged before told him that they weren't alone anymore.

It was the same feeling he'd had each time the Yondaime had appeared behind him with no sign to warn of his approach. No sign that is, but the feeling of nerves tickling along Naruto's spine in agitation. It almost felt as if someone or something was calling him somewhere from a great distance.

The feeling occurred two more times before the sound of two bodies hitting the ground broke the sudden stillness that had descended over the forest.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, kunai still clutched in his mouth.

The Yondaime was standing unmoving in front of him, the Kunai-goon gripped securely in a submissive grip with a three-pronged kunai resting against the Iwa-nin's neck.

"Kakashi! Obito! Come here and secure the prisoner. Rin! Hide the bodies under the bushes over there. It will have to do for now until we can find a way to transport them to Konoha to be scanned information."

The students acted quickly in fulfilling their sensei's commands, and Naruto couldn't help but be impressed. When he'd been their age, he'd been more likely to complain or ask senseless questions before he started doing what he'd been told.

"As for you…"

Starting, Naruto turned his attention from the kids running around to the imposing figure of the Fourth standing over him with a stern, but still somewhat intrigued expression.

"Huh?" Naruto said eloquently, completely forgetting that he had a kunai stuck in his mouth.

He didn't even dare to think about what would have happened to his more… precious parts, if the Yondaime hadn't been fast enough to catch the kunai before it landed. Naruto resolved there and then to forgive the man completely for leaving him helpless to three armed enemies.

Uncrossing his eyes (he'd been trying to make sure that everything was still intact), Naruto focused on the blonde in front of him again.

"Say what now?" He asked, still not completely over all the adrenalin that had been pumping through his veins as the Iwa-nin were taken down. He completely forgot about it though as what he'd seen finally registered in his mind.

"That was awesome!" He yelled in excitement, completely forgetting that he was the one being questioned here, he continued. "How the hell did you do that? Just how fast are you? Can you teach me? Just wait until I tell this to…" He was cut off as a seal-tag was placed across his mouth to keep him from continuing and he finally registered the amused, blue eyes looking at him.

Naruto couldn't quite keep a blush from crawling across his face and he looked down in embarrassment.

It seemed like the kids were done with their orders when he finally looked up again because they were all standing in front of him, looking at him with bemused and (in Kakashi's case) bored expressions.

Shaking his head in exasperation, the Yondaime let the silence continue as he gazed at the blonde riddle in front of him. It was the black-haired kid (Obito?) who finally broke the silence.

"Ano sa, ano sa… Sensei, he looks just like you. Well, except for those weird marks on his face, I guess."

Naruto's eyes widened as the Yondaime's drew together in a thoughtful frown. He'd never really noticed it before, but now that Obito had mentioned it, Naruto had no problems at seeing the similarities between them.

_How strange… there are some differences, but still, the likeness is uncanny._

The Yondaime seemed to draw himself from his musings finally as he focused all his attention on Naruto. Naruto felt the odd urge to cringe as if he stood in front of the Sandaime after pulling a particular spectacular prank.

"What's your name?" He asked as he ripped the seal-tag off Naruto's mouth so that he could answer.

Naruto blinked at the question. There was no way that he'd use his real name. He _couldn't_ even if he wanted to. Who knew what it would do to the timeline.

"You can call me Rei," he finally decided. 'Ghost' was as good a name as any for a person stranded in the past. And if he ever found a different role for his romp into the past, the name had many other meanings he could use.

Blue eyes narrowed and Naruto knew that the Yondaime was aware the he'd given himself a false name. He also obviously had the insight and sensitivity to let it lie for the moment as he went on with his questions.

"And do you have a surname to that?"

"Mumei." Naruto answered at once.

The blue eyes narrowed further. "Mumei Rei; Nameless Actor," the Yondaime finally muttered, obviously settling on a different interpretation of Naruto's chosen first name.

Naruto blinked and shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Sighing, the Yondaime indicated Naruto's bonds. "Will you try to run if I release you?"

Naruto noticed that both Kakashi and Obito were about to protest to Yondaime's implied suggestion to free him, so he answered quickly. "No. I still have to reach Konoha to have the seal looked at. Being escorted by Konoha shinobi would help me to get through the patrols. I don't have any ID so the help would be useful." Naruto said truthfully. He knew that the Yondaime was a Fuinjutsu Master, but the Yondaime didn't know that he knew so he had to play it safe for now.

An odd expression crossed the Yondaime's face.

"You really spoke the truth about the seal?" He finally asked.

Naruto nodded, noticing that the kids seemed to find him more interesting suddenly.

"You're not a civilian, are you?" The Yondaime asked another question. "The speed you moved with, both before when you managed to get a kunai to my neck, and now when you kicked the kunai out of that nin's hand. You've been trained in the shinobi arts."

Naruto nodded again.

"Which village did you learn from? I notice you have no forehead-protector and even missing-nin keep theirs." The Yondaime seemed to have decided to do the interrogation properly this time.

Naruto deliberated his answer for moment. "I learned from a couple of Konoha-nin, but they wouldn't be able to confirm it anymore."

The Fourth nodded, taking it to mean that they were dead. "Are you a threat to Konoha, its leaders or its citizens?"

"No, not unless they are traitors to Konoha of course." Naruto answered honestly. He'd always answer the same to that question and have the same honesty when he did.

Sighing again, this time more heavily, the Yondaime looked to be in deep thought as he deliberated what to do. Finally after a moment of silence that seemed to last an eternity, he finally spoke again. "You speak in riddles and half-truths, but other than your name you haven't spoken a direct lie yet. You do realize that if I trust you now and release you, I'll be held responsible for your actions if you run away or break any of Konoha's laws?"

Naruto could sense the seriousness in the question and he nodded just as seriously, showing that he understood perfectly what the Yondaime was trying to convey.

"Very well then," the Yondaime said as if that decided everything. "Obito, release him so that we can take a look at his mysterious seal."

As the black-haired kid moved forwards to loosen the ropes holding him, Naruto raised an eyebrow in an unspoken question to the Yondaime. He obviously took the expression to mean that Naruto looked for an explanation to his actions.

Smiling guilelessly, the Yondaime shrugged and scratched his neck in a familiar awkward posture. "My name is Namikaze Minato, jounin sensei for team 7 and a certified Fuinjutsu Master. These are the members of my team: Hatake Kakashi; chuunin, Uchiha Obito; genin and Inuzuka Rin; genin."

Naruto blinked, effortlessly faking his surprise as he mentally wondered at how weird it was to finally know the Yondaime's name. Then he got to wondering why he'd never really wondered about what his name was before. Next, he wondered how he could've missed the fact that the black haired kid was an Uchiha. He had the clan mark on his shirt after all. In the end he decided that he'd been blind sided because Obito didn't act like any Uchiha he'd ever met or heard of before. Lastely, he focused on the information about Minato being a Master in Fuinjutsu.

"Really? But that's awesome. If you could look at the seal I don't need to travel the whole way to Konoha."

This was where the play he was playing was balancing on the edge of a sword. Naruto really did need to go to Konoha even if the Yond- _Minato_ looked at his seal. He didn't believe that Minato would be able to figure out what was wrong when Naruto wasn't willing to give all the information pertaining to the seal. There were certain subjects (the Kyubi, the Akatsuki) that he simply _couldn't_ divulge to anyone yet.

Naruto really did need to go to Konoha to be able to gain entry (read: sneak in) to the restricted section of the shinobi library where information on summoning and dimensional-theory was stored. In order to do this, he needed to get Minato to trust him enough to escort him and get him inside Konoha's gates. In a time of conflict there'd be no way for Naruto to get inside Konoha's walls without shackles binding him – or under heavy escort and possible surveillance – unless the one leading him really believed that Naruto didn't really need (or want) to go to the village.

As Naruto had hoped, Minato looked briefly startled at his exclamation before he rushed to get him to change his mind. "That may be Rei, but I'd still like it if you'd allow us to escort you to Konoha so that you'd be able to give the Sandaime an account of what the Iwa-nin told you. My team and I may have been witnesses to the conversation and we still have one of them alive to bring in, but it would bring even more strength to our case if you came with us."

And with that sentence, Naruto knew that Minato was onto his play. But he'd also indicated that he was willing to see what Naruto was up to before he took any further actions. The excuse he'd used – that he'd like to have another individual there, one who didn't even have a forehead-protector – was completely transparent. There was no way that four certified Konoha shinobi wouldn't be considered good enough witnesses when it came to a case where the Stone were already suspected of foul play.

As a show of good will and full understanding of the situation, Naruto met Minato's eyes squarely as he nodded his consent.

An accord then, to see what the future brought and keep their dealings peaceful until something forced the situation to change.

As the rope around Naruto's wrists finally loosened and fell away, Naruto quickly brought his hands to the front to inspect the damage and to rub feeling into his hands again. They were already prickling intensely as blood rushed to the previously restricted area of his body.

"That doesn't look too good," Obito commented with scepticism as he looked at Naruto's raw wrists.

Naruto smiled disarmingly as he brushed the concern away. "Don't worry about it. I'm a fast healer. It will be gone by nightfall."

He didn't notice the interested glances that were cast his way at his words. He did notice though, when his vision was blocked by a head full of hair as the girl suddenly invaded his space to inspect the injury.

"Don't be ridiculous," she said in a commanding and no-nonsense voice that Naruto had only ever heard before from Sakura or Tsunade when they were on a mission. A mission to heal that is. "Here, I'll fix it up straight away." The girl (Rin?) continued as if healing strangers who'd been thought of as enemies moments before was a regular occurrence for the small girl.

Maybe for her it was.

Naruto shrugged good-naturedly as he held his hands up for her to see. He knew better than to mess with a healer on a mission.

When she was done, he gave her a blinding smile and a heartfelt "thank you". She nodded in response, a small frown on her face before she decided to speak.

"There's something awfully wrong with your chakra." She said suddenly with no preamble.

Naruto nodded, and as if on cue, Rin's hair was replaced with a mop of sun-kissed locks as Minato took her place. "Right then, lets take a look at that seal." He said it with so much enthusiasm and excitement that Naruto seriously wondered if he'd survive the unexpected meeting with the future Yondaime unharmed.

Not even getting a chance to protest, Naruto was pushed backwards as his (too large) shirt was pushed up to expose his stomach.

Rin 'eeped' and turned away with a blush.

Obito leaned in to watch in obvious curiosity.

Kakashi snorted arrogantly and turned away to guard the new prisoner they'd acquired.

Naruto decided that now would be a proper time to swear. "Hey! Watch it damn it! You could've taken two seconds to ask and wait for me to take my shirt off myself."

Minato froze as he took in the seal.

Naruto froze too as he took the time to go over what he'd just said; in his own head this time. Nope, didn't sound better there. He shivered involuntarily. _Think before speaking! Think before speaking, damn it!_

"What the hell kind of seal is this?"

Minato's incredulous voice broke Naruto from his self-reprimanding and he bent forwards awkwardly so that he'd be able to look at the seal too.

"Huh?" He said in confusion to Minato's question. He himself knew perfectly well what kind of seal it was - or at least what kind of seal it was supposed to be – but he couldn't tell the blonde jounin that.

Minato though didn't seem to notice his lack of response as he went on talking instead of waiting for (or demanding) a better answer.

"It looks like it's supposed to convert something, or at the very least…" He trailed off, obviously lost in his own thoughts. After a few seconds, he started talking to himself again. "And these lines, they remind me of the summoning contract with Gamabunta, but what could the purpose be? The symbols over here are supposed to trigger the seal into activating if something specific occurs, but I can't figure out what that could be."

After spending many minutes mulling over the seal, he finally seemed to come to some sort of conclusion. "It's like this seal is only supposed to be secondary. As it is now it looks incomplete. If I were to guess I'd say the seal shouldn't even be active if it weren't for these lines here." He pointed to indicate the key-lines in the seal that referred to the time-dimension Naruto had opted to use. Looking up at Naruto, he finally gave his verdict. "I'm sorry, but I don't think the seal can be removed or stopped from running its course. Messing with it now could possibly lead to your immediate death, but other than having tangled up your chakra coils, it doesn't seem to have any negative effect on you. It's strange though," he added as an after thought. "When I examine you and the seal, it's like I can feel an enormous amount of chakra in you, but the next second the feeling is gone. Your chakra levels are fluctuating wildly, but I can't even sense that you have chakra unless I'm touching you. I'm just guessing here, but I think that the seal is also restricting some strange foreign chakra from flooding your system. As a matter of fact, the seal seems to be acting as a gateway for the chakra, only allowing small amounts to enter your body."

Naruto's eyes widened in both surprise and alarm. He'd never have guessed that the Yondaime would be able to figure out so much of the seal and its purpose just by examining it once and without any other information on it. Jiraiya had used months to determine the seal's purpose and function, and that had been with heave amounts of information and hints given by Naruto. It seemed that the Fourth was as much of a Fuinjutsu genius as Naruto, if not more of one.

Noticing Naruto's expression, Minato quickly deduced that he knew more than he'd hinted at and demanded; "what more do you know about it?"

Naruto shrugged sheepishly as he pushed himself up and righted his shirt. "I don't really think I should tell you just yet." He finally said. "We've only just met and neither of us really trusts each other yet…" He trailed off as he saw the disapproving (and disappointed) expression on Minato's face, and in the end decided to throw him a carrot. "I have dabbled a bit in sealing myself though, and I'd never have expected you to figure so much out just by examining it once. You have to be a natural."

Forgetting his ire at the praise, Minato smiled sheepishly as he scratched the back of his neck. He neither denied nor confirmed anything, but both of them knew that what Naruto had said was nothing but the truth.

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Naruto sighed and nicked his finger on a borrowed kunai once again as he pressed the bloodied appendage to the parchment under him. He found it irritating how often he had to open a new wound as the other healed over.

He was using his chakra-infused blood to draw up a seal on a scroll Minato had given him. When the design was finished, he had to draw up a corresponding seal on one of the dead Iwa-nin. When the two seals were activated, the result would be that the body would be drawn into and stored in a sub-dimension controlled by the seal-scroll. Activating the seal on the scroll a second time would draw the body back to its original dimension.

This sealing method was most often used to store and carry large amounts of weapons, food or other equipment. Naruto remembered that a girl – Tenten he thought her name was – on Neji's team used to have a lot of storing-scrolls on her for her weapons. The only difference from storing small items like for example kunai and shurinken, as opposed to large object like dead bodies, was that the small objects didn't have to be painted with corresponding seal. They could simply be placed on a sealing circle drawn directly on the scroll.

Naruto had already learned from Jiraiya how to seal small objects. Sealing larger ones like he was doing now, was a new experience for him and in a way he was grateful to Minato for teaching him.

Minato had decided to use this method to both carry and conserve the dead bodies until they could be examined for information back in Konoha. In addition, he'd also wanted to use this as an experiment to see how qualified Naruto really was in sealing techniques. He'd sealed one of the bodies up first, letting Naruto observe the procedure, and then he'd commanded Naruto to try to seal up the last one.

So far everything was going well and as Naruto finalized the last symbol for the seal on the scroll, Minato came over to check it for mistakes.

"This is really well done." He praised.

Naruto couldn't help but smile at the compliment as licked the residual blood off his finger. Minato eyed him as he did it and finally commented; "You really do heal fast."

Naruto shrugged as carelessly as he could considering where this conversation might end up. "Yeah. It's an ability I've had since I was a baby. My mentors thought it could be because of the large amount of chakra I have."

Minato nodded, seemingly accepting the explanation. Even without the strange fluctuating ball of chakra he'd noticed inside Naruto, he'd also sensed that Naruto had a large amount of _stable_ chakra that only grew as the seal continued its mysterious task.

Focusing back at the matter at hand, Minato continued his evaluation of Naruto's seal. "I'd say you're as much a prodigy at sealing as myself seeing as you managed so well after only seeing the design done once. Still," he added as he pointed out one of the last symbols. "This symbol here could've been done better. You see how it doesn't quite align with the character to keep everything balanced?"

Naruto leaned over to get a better look, and in the end he had to nod his agreement. "You're right of course." He agreed. "I was in a bit of hurry there at the end, I wanted to get finished before I had to cut myself up again", he excused himself. "Will it cause the seal to malfunction?" He finally asked.

Minato frowned before he shook his head negatively. "No, it should stay stable, but you can't really afford to make mistakes at sealing, even small ones can be fatal."

Naruto nodded. He knew all this already.

"How long have you been learning sealing?" Minato finally asked Naruto.

Naruto scrunched his face up in thought. "I don't know… three years I think." He finally answered.

"Definitely a prodigy then," Minato concluded as he looked Naruto over. "Have you ever thought about becoming a Master? It would be a waste of your skill to do anything else. If you agree to sign a Contract of Servitude to Konoha, I could teach you myself, or ask my own sensei to teach you."

Naruto chuckled awkwardly, not really knowing how, or what to answer.

A Contract of Servitude bound to one of the hidden villages was a serious show of commitment and faith from both parties involved. The contact would ensure that the one subjecting himself to it would be treated as close to a shinobi as a person raised outside the academy (a civilian in essence) could be. He'd be under the protection of the village and its shinobi. In return, the contract demanded total loyalty to the village and its inhabitants. Should the one signing the contact be suspected of foul play, he could be prosecuted as a certified shinobi under the full power of martial law. It was also expected of the one who signed that he would offer up any useful cervices or knowledge voluntarily if the village ever had use of the person's expertise.

Never giving an answer to Minato's suggestion, Naruto silently began the seal on the last Iwa body.

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A/N: Well, here's the next chapter. I originally intended for it to be longer, but this seemed like a natural place to stop. Personally I can't stand cliffhangers unless the authors update daily.

I'm still in need of a beta-reader. Please contact me if you're interested.

Eleature


	3. Ghost

Chapter 2.

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"Ano… Rei-san?"

Naruto twisted his head slightly in the direction of the speaker, careful to keep at least part of his attention on where he was going.

"Yes Obito?"

Obito turned his whole head to look at Naruto and barely managed to land on the branch he had been aiming for. After that incident and a few scolding remarks from his silver-haired team-mate, he was careful to keep his eyes on where he was going.

Naruto silently chuckled, but opted not to say anything, he'd been the same way when he was a genin, before navigating through Konoha's forest and tree-branches became nearly second nature.

They were travelling in the trees towards the Hidden Village. Minato had decided that considering the vital information they'd come across and the Iwa-nin they had captured (both dead and alive) it would be prudent to reach Konoha as soon as possible. They'd made a quick stop at the nearest border post to inform them of the situation (that there'd been a situation while they were patrolling and that the Hokage needed to know as soon as possible). The stop was also to inform the border post that someone else needed to patrol Team Seven's assigned area.

The unconscious Iwa-nin had also been placed in a holding cell at the border post. Minato had placed specific summoning seals on the nin before leaving. This way, the nin could be summoned when they'd made it to Konoha and Team Seven didn't need to worry about the nin attempting an escape. Naruto recognized the summoning seal as the one that had been used to summon Iruka when his team had finally made it through the Forest of Death in Naruto's first chuunin exam.

"What is it?" Naruto finally asked, reminding the young Uchiha that he'd been the one to initiate a conversation.

Obito looked embarrassed for a brief moment before he decided to simply spill whatever was on his mind.

"Um… I was wondering, about your ability to make seals when Sensei and Rin-chan said that your chakra-coils were ruined."

Naruto gave the black-haired genin a quick look before he focused fully on where he was putting his feet.

"Hmm, I guess I first have to clear up a misconception", he began. "My chakra coils aren't ruined. They are merely… well… not how they're supposed to be. They are tied up in a complete mess, hindering my ability to successfully focus and use my chakra outside my body."

Obito frowned in deep thought before he finally said something again.

"So how does this play in on your ability to make seals… and even perform jutsu?"

The answer didn't come from Naruto though, but rather from a more surprising and arrogant source.

"Isn't it obvious baka? Seals, like the ones Rei and Sensei grafted, are made by blood or ink mixed with blood that has been infused by chakra. Since the chakra didn't leave Rei's body from his chakra-points, he circumvented the handicap that his chakra-coils present to him. It's obvious that he can focus and control his chakra as long as it's still tied to his body. When the blood leaves Rei's body, he looses the control and focus he had on it when it was inside him. This is where the seals come in. They work as a substitute for Rei's own focus and control and give the chakra infused blood a purpose. And when it concerns jutsu, I doubt Rei will ever be able to perform regular jutsu with the handicap he has."

Frowning slightly in Kakashi's direction, Naruto couldn't help but see disturbing similarities between the young prodigy and the young avenger he'd grown up with himself.

"That's partially correct."

Naruto decided to not provoke his future sensei outright, but rather try to point out the small mistakes in his reasoning in an attempt to get him to think more creatively.

"Your explanation of how I can graft seals was excellent, but it's not true that I'm completely unable to use jutsu. Jutsu which will only affect my own body should be within my ability to perform. At the moment I don't yet know of any such jutsu, but I am able to use chakra to augment my strength and speed. It shouldn't take me long to figure out some jutsu that'll work for me."

Kakashi snorted in disbelief.

"You're telling me that you'll create jutsu on your own? The justu will have to be incredibly complex for them to only affect your own body. And any way, what use will they be if they can't affect your enemies or the area surrounding your enemies?"

Naruto was about to reply, but was interrupted by two voices before he could even begin.

"Be polite, Kakashi!" Minato commanded strictly. Kakashi muttered a sullen "yes, sensei" and turned away.

Obito voiced his own opinion. "If Rei says he can do it, then I believe him."

Naruto was warmed at the support at the same time as he was somewhat doubtful of his own success. Kakashi was right in his assessment. Creating jutsu that would only affect the body and at the same time be useful in battle, would be extremely difficult and complex. Still, he'd never been one to give up just because something seemed impossible.

"Did you use chakra in your limbs when you achieved the speed to kick that Iwa-nin's kunai out of his hands?" Rin asked after a moment of pensive silence.

Naruto looked mildly surprised. "No, that was just speed."

"Really?" Minato asked curiously. "And when you managed to get me to a standstill, was that only speed too?"

Naruto frowned slightly, not really knowing where Minato was going with his questions, and not really liking the suspicion he was picking up.

"Yes… or, at least I think so." He finally settled on. "At the moment everything happened so fast. Why do you ask?"

Minato risked a quick glance at the blonde enigma running behind him.

"It's just that I've never been stopped or been noticed before while using the technique I did at that moment. Not unless it was already too late for the enemy to react at least."

Naruto didn't answer at once, thinking about the implications and the strange instinct he'd noticed later on when Minato suddenly appeared out of nowhere to take the Stone-nin down.

"There was… something I noticed when you did whatever you did." He finally said. "The problem is that even I don't know what it is. Maybe if you told me about the technique you used, I'll be better able to give you a satisfactory answer."

Minato didn't answer, but his frown deepened. He had thought his technique to be perfect. To find out now that there might be a flaw he hadn't noticed before… the thought was both aggravating and damning to his own ego.

"Maybe…" he finally muttered, too low for anyone but Naruto to hear.

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As Konoha drew nearer, Naruto began to feel somewhat nostalgic.

It would be strange to return to his home without any of his friends being there. Sure, the Sandaime was there, but he wouldn't know or recognize Naruto. It was kind of depressing, but then Naruto couldn't help but be somewhat happy that he'd be able to see the kindly old Hokage once more. Maybe, once he'd figured out what to do with his situation, he'd be able to develop a friendly relationship with the old man similar to the one they had.

He couldn't help but admit to himself that he'd like it if that possibility came true.

"Where will we go first?" Naruto asked as the gates finally came in view.

They'd emerged from the forest a couple of hours ago and now they were walking along the main road. It was a show of courtesy and peaceful intentions to approach a Hidden Village while walking in plain view. Anything else could be taken as a hostile action or a warning about a nearing crisis.

"We'll register yours and my team's arrival at the gate's pass-control, and then we'll go directly to the Hokage and set up an appointment. Hopefully we'll manage to get a closed meeting with him as soon as possible." Minato answered.

Naruto nodded his agreement and understanding.

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The gate-guard proved to be more troublesome than any of them had expected.

It seemed that the hostility and suspicion circulating between Konoha and Iwa had worsened in the short week that Minato's team had been out of the village. Naruto rightfully deduced that this had something to do with the chuunin-patrol team that had undoubtedly arrived before Minato's team and Naruto. Rumours were probably already circulation about the suspicious blonde that had been captured by Minato at the border.

The guards nearly refused Naruto's entrance into the village and one of them was even insinuating that he should be brought in for interrogation when Minato finally used his higher rank (the guards were chuunin) to insist on Naruto's entrance. Even then, he had to promise and sign a paper that stated that he wouldn't leave Naruto's side until the Hokage had cleared Naruto's stay in the village.

As they walked into the village proper, Naruto used his time to look around. Konoha was disturbingly similar to how it would be in the future, but it was the small differences that solidified Naruto's belief about having travelled to the past.

The new people he'd never seen before. Shops that had been replaced by the time Naruto was old enough to notice them… Oh, who was he trying to kid? It was glaringly obvious that he wasn't in his own time when the Hokage Monument only sported three huge depictions of Konoha's Hokages after all.

When they reached the Hokage Tower, they were subjected to yet another pass-control similar to the one they'd had at the gate. Naruto began to find the whole debacle frustrating, but Minato and his team simply seemed to take it in stride. Even Obito refrained from voicing objection, something that led Naruto to believe that maybe the pass-control at the Hokage Tower wasn't a new development.

Strange; as far as Naruto could remember, they'd never controlled the entry into the Hokage's Tower before.

After another fifteen minutes of haggling with the chuunin at the entrance, they were finally admitted entrance when an ANBU came to escort them to the secretary's office and the waiting area. There the ANBU left them to wait for the Hokage to give notice when he could see them. Naruto wasn't fooled into believing that the waiting area was under any less surveillance than the rest of the tower. Doubtlessly, there were at least one ANBU in each corner of the office, somehow concealed from view.

No-one said anything while they were waiting, though Obito, Naruto and Rin fidgeted once in a while.

When two full hours had gone by, they were finally admitted into Sandaime's office.

Naruto couldn't help but feel excited.

As Team Seven and their sensei walked forwards to report their return from their patrol mission, Naruto kept unobtrusively to the background as he intently studied the Kage in front of him.

The Sandaime looked at least twenty years younger from when Naruto had last laid eyes on him. He was less wrinkled. His eyes were sharper and he excluded an aura that demanded absolute attention and obedience. Seeing the third Hokage now, Naruto could admit to himself that the Hokage would mellow quite a bit over the years it took for Naruto to be born and grow up.

"Sandaime-sama, Team Seven reporting back from patrol mission with vital information." Minato said straight forwards in a no-nonsense voice.

The third Hokage nodded his acknowledgment to Minato's words as he shifted his piercing eyes to Naruto's figure. Minato seemed to understand what the Hokage wanted and turned slightly to wave Naruto to the front.

Naruto took the few steps required until he stood next to Team Seven and their sensei.

"And who might you be?" The Hokage asked with no noticeable inflection in his voice.

Naruto barely managed to keep from wincing at the unfamiliar tone from the person he'd once thought of as a grandfather.

"Mumei Rei." He answered without preamble.

The Hokage nodded thoughtfully.

"That is not your real name", he deduced finally.

"No." Naruto had no reason to hide that his name was a pseudonym. It was better to lie as little as possible to those he thought of as allies.

The Sandaime only nodded again, accepting the truth of his made-up name as easily as Minato had. Many people, both shinobi and civilians, found new names for themselves for one reason or another. For the most part – as long as you weren't a criminal trying to escape – people didn't really care.

Shifting his attention back to Minato and his team, the Hokage finally asked about the news they brought.

The explanations took some time. Minato told about their first encounter with Naruto and how Naruto had willingly given himself over without bloodshed. He told about their first conversation and how it had ended with leaving Naruto as bait for the Stone-nin, both to see if the enemy nin recognized Naruto as an ally and to trap and catch the enemy unawares. The Hokage was told about how Naruto tricked the enemy into revealing vital information about possible high-ranking spies in Konoha and lastly, he was told about Naruto's strange seal and the ability he had concerning sealing.

The Sandaime listened closely to everything that was said. Only rarely interrupting to ask a question when something wasn't clear enough for him.

Naruto waited through it all and added his own version of things when the old man asked it of him.

When everything was said and done, the office was consumed by silence as the Hokage thought about everything that had come to light.

Iwa was after the destruction of Konoha. To reach this goal they were prepared to decimate and maybe even steal Konoha's greatest strength.

But what was Konoha's greatest strength?

The Sandaime very much doubted that Konoha and Iwa had the same definition of what made a village strong. It bore further thought, he finally decided, but for now he had to deal with the blonde stranger that Minato had decided to bring before him. Still, it would be prudent to get Minato's opinion without the blonde mystery in the same room.

"Thank you Team Seven for your help." He signed a couple of papers and put them away as focused his attention on the younger members of the team. "I hope I need not remind you that whatever you have heard in this room today is classified information. Talk of it to no-one. Not even amongst yourselves. Is that clear?"

"Yes Hokage-sama." The trio dutifully replied.

The Sandaime smiled congenially then. "Good. Then you are dismissed. Pay for your mission will be made available to you through the usual channels. Have a nice day."

Recognizing that their time in the office had come to an end, the three students dutifully bowed and left the room. Naruto dared a brief glance after them before he focused his attention back on the man in front of him.

"As for you Mumei-san…"

Naruto stood to attention at the commanding tone.

"I need some more consulting before I can decide what to do with you. Will you consent to wait outside while I confer with Namikaze-san here?"

Recognizing a polite way to dismiss him from the room (and it really was polite, the Hokage could've gotten a squad of ANBU to throw him out if he so wished), Naruto bowed too as he left quietly.

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As soon as the door closed after the blonde stranger, the Hokage fixed his full attention on the jounin in front of him.

"What is your impression?" He didn't have to elaborate on who he was referring to.

Minato thought it through only for a few seconds. He'd had the whole way back to Konoha to think about what he should say to the Hokage when he finally made it back.

"I think he is favourable to Konoha. He hasn't shown any untoward aggression towards any of Konoha's shinobi and he's tried his best to answer honestly. I can rarely sense any falsehood in him and when he talked about his devotion to Konoha, I could only sense truth. He is hiding something for sure, but I do not believe it to be detrimental to Konoha. Rather, I believe it to be something connected to the strange seal he carries. Other than that, he's a curiosity, particularly pertaining to how he managed to sense my arrival by the Flying Thunder God Technique."

The Sandaime nodded thoughtfully, finding Minato's assessment to be close to his own.

"Do you think he'd be willing to subjugate himself to an interrogation Yamanaka-style?" He finally asked. "Only to ascertain his loyalty to Konoha or at the very least his intention to bring Konoha no harm."

Minato thought it over. "It is possible Hokage-sama. Maybe even more so if you reassure him that Yamanaka-san will leave all other memories and feeling alone. It is an unconventional method of interrogation after all. The Yamanaka clan does not usually use their techniques for the purpose you are asking."

The Sandaime nodded gravely. "That may be, but I fear war is brewing, and if Mumei-san really feels favourably towards Konoha then he'd be a useful ally to have. Especially if we have high-ranking enemy spies amongst our shinobi. "

Minato's eyes widened. "You mean to enlist him as a personal spy?"

The old man filled up his pipe as he gazed gravely on the jounin in front of him. "If he is willing… then maybe. I'd have to assess his strengths and ensure his loyalty to Konoha first. On the other hand, if it turns out that the man is a possible threat, he'll have to be eliminated."

Sighing heavily, the Sandaime looked out the window as he continued to ponder the problems that kept stacking themselves up against his beloved village.

Minato kept his silence.

"At what level of skill would you assess Mumei-san to be?"

The Sandaime's question came out of the blue and Minato blinked, slightly perturbed before he answered. "It is difficult to say", he began. "With the seal hindering him from using conventional jutsu, I'd say his capabilities are lessened, but with the speed he has and the ease with which he learns seals, he could be formidable. Other than that, he has an advanced form of healing and his other senses seem more advanced too. Lastly, he's the best actor I've come across in a long time. He is good enough that even now I doubt my own assessment of him. He could be playing us both to his tune without any of us knowing it."

The Sandaime nodded. "Which is why I want Yamanaka-san to test him."

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Naruto watched the blonde in front of him warily.

From being in the same class as Ino at the academy and later developing a working friendship with the dominating blonde, Naruto had a vague clue about how the Yamanaka's bloodline worked.

That knowledge didn't reassure him in the slightest as he was about to get first hand experience himself in a couple of minutes.

The Yamanaka in front of him and the Sandaime had both tried to explain what they would be doing and both had promised sincerely to only ask pre-agreed upon questions while Naruto was subjugated to the jutsu.

Naruto could understand why the Sandaime found this to be necessary, but he still really disliked the thought of another person rummaging around in his mind. The Kyubi had been one individual too many according to Naruto's opinion.

"Are you ready Mumei-san?"

Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, Naruto nodded to the Yamanaka in a sign that he should proceed.

The jutsu was activated.

Naruto suddenly found himself in the long and stretching corridors of his mindscape.

For once he wasn't the only human there.

"You have a strange mind, Mumei-san."

Naruto nodded vaguely to the blonde man in front of him. "I know." There wasn't much to say to such a statement anyway. And even if Naruto had never been in another persons mind before, he'd always thought that there was something special (read; weird) about his own.

The Yamanaka smiled tightly and then he spoke.

"Very well then. Sandaime-sama and I have already explained to you why we are here. In a persons mindscape it is impossible to tell lies."

Naruto nodded.

For the Sandaime to trust him enough to let him wander around alone in Konoha, he had decided that it would be necessary for Naruto to go though this test. As Naruto had understood it, it wasn't a viable option in a normal interrogation because the one subjugated to it had to do so willingly. A person's mindscape was very private and could only be accessed by an outsider if the person being accessed was willing.

"I'll begin then", the Yamanaka stated. He was obviously eager to leave Naruto's mindscape as soon as possible. Naruto couldn't really blame the man. The dim corridors were really daunting if you weren't used to them.

"Your name is not really Mumei Rei?"

"No."

The Yamanaka nodded, expecting the answer.

"Do you use a pseudonym because you are wanted for a crime in any of the five great shinobi countries?"

"No."

"Do you have any ill intentions towards Konoha, its Hokage or its citizens?"

"Not unless they are traitors to the village, no." Naruto answered.

The Yamanaka nodded approvingly at the answer.

"Would you consider yourself an ally of Konoha?"

"Yes."

"Would you welcome an alliance with Konoha and its current Hokage?"

"Yes."

"Would you consider yourself a subject of Konoha?"

"Yes."

"Would you be willing to swear fealty to Konoha?"

Naruto hesitated.

"Not at this moment in time, no." He finally answered.

The Yamanaka raised an eyebrow but didn't comment further.

"Would you be willing to swear fealty to the current Hokage of Konoha?"

"Perhaps."

"Would you ever consider willingly and knowingly betraying Konoha?"

"No."

"What would you consider worth dying for?"

"My dreams, my friends, my friends' dreams…" Naruto trailed off.

"Do you have any friends who would wish harm on Konoha?"

It wasn't a pre-agreed on question, but Naruto could understand the sudden necessity of it and answered anyway.

"No."

"Are you well versed in the teachings of the shinobi?"

"Relatively, yes."

"Where did you learn?"

"On travels with shinobi in Fire Country and some of the other shinobi countries." …Which was true. Naruto had learned from both Jiraiya and other shinobi while travelling with the white-haired sannin. He'd only excluded that he'd learned in Konoha proper as well.

"Who did you learn from?"

"Various shinobi. Two of them from Konoha, none of which are able to confirm my statements at this moment in time."

"The Konoha shinobi who taught you, do you believe them to have been loyal to Konoha?"

"Yes."

"Is there anything else you wish to say that you believe may improve your evaluation?"

Naruto thought for a second before he answered.

"I'd be willing to offer my services to Konoha as long as it wouldn't interfere with my own agenda. If I come across information that could help Konoha, I'd do my best to inform the Hokage as soon as possible. I do not believe my own agenda to go against Konoha's wellbeing; in fact I believe it to be in service of the village."

Yamanaka waited a moment longer to see if Naruto had more to say. When it was obvious that he had said his piece, the Yamanaka brought his hands up in a hand-seal to dispel the jutsu.

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At first it was disorienting for Naruto to suddenly find himself back in the waking world again.

The Hokage gave both Naruto and the Yamanaka time to gather themselves before he asked the Yamanaka to recount the answers Naruto had given to each question and also any other information that had come to light.

When all of the formalities were done with, the Yamanaka was dismissed and Naruto was alone with the old Hokage in his office. Minato had left with Yamanaka as his duties were done for the moment. If the Hokage needed his advice, he could always summon him later on.

"Well then…" The Sandaime murmured, eying Naruto speculatively.

Naruto stared right back, refusing to back dawn from the unvoiced challenge. He loved the old man dearly, but that didn't mean that he'd take any kind of challenge directed at him lying down.

Finally giving a decisive nod – Naruto didn't know why the old man was nodding at him, maybe he was satisfied with what he saw – the old man took the pipe out of his mouth as he finally gave his verdict.

"After your honesty and willing cooperation there seems to be no reason for me to hinder your free movements in Konoha. You obviously do not have any ill intentions towards the village." The Sandaime stopped as he pondered something. "Tell me Mumei-san… for what reason did you accompany Team Seven back to Konoha? And tell me the real reason please, not the half-hearted excuse Minato came up with."

Naruto frowned thoughtfully.

Finally he decided on an appropriate and true answer. "I need information." He stated. "Information concerning the seal placed on me more specifically, or anything else that I think may be relevant."

The Sandaime nodded. "It seems we are both in need of information then."

Naruto didn't answer, instead keeping his face carefully blank in front of the perceptive leader.

Turning around, the Hokage stepped over to the huge windows adorning the office. He was regarding his beloved village as he began to propose a solution for both of them.

"The information you seek – information about fuinjutsu – is costly, valuable and hard to get to." The old man cast a covert look back at the blonde behind him as he spoke. "No doubt you'd go about acquiring this information in less then legal manners if you had to…" He left the sentence open for personal interpretation.

Naruto didn't answer at first, all too aware of how he was prepared to sneak into the restricted shinobi library to get what he needed. In the end he gave a slight nod, indicating that the Hokage were right in his suspicions.

The Sandaime only nodded and turned back to look out the window.

"Seeing as you've already voiced your willingness to aid Konoha if you have the opportunity, would you be willing to take it a step further for something in return?" The question was voiced with a possibility of mutual gain in it.

Naruto straightened. "I'm listening."

Turning back to face the blonde fully, the Sandaime sized him up carefully as he came with his proposition.

"As you know, Konoha is being threatened by traitors with a lot of power in the village. My problem is that if I start an internal investigation of my ranks and its leaders, I may very well tip my hand to the spies. The only ones I can truly trust fully at this point in time are yourself, Minato and his team. The junior members of Team Seven are still too young and inexperienced to deal with a matter of this degree, which leaves you and Minato… maybe even Kakashi if he proves himself. He is a stickler for rules after all." The last part was mostly mumbled and Naruto suspected that the Hokage was talking to himself in that instance.

"No matter," he continued. "The fact is that I have a dire situation on my hands and very few people that I trust to know of it. With one Iwa-nin captured alive and two dead ones, it will be difficult to gain any reliable information from them if one of the traitors is high up in the ranks of the interrogational squad. As the situation is now, the stone-nin are worthless to me. Minato is not a professional interrogator and for all your acting ability, I suspect that neither are you."

Naruto nodded in confirmation. He was well aware that he didn't have the sadistic mindset needed to be successful as an interrogator.

"As a conclusion I have two persons with which I can trust the recent information, one of which is a high profiled jounin and one of which is an anonymous and unknown stranger. Can you see where I'm going with this, or have I overestimated you completely?"

Naruto frowned at the implied slight against his intelligence, but in the end he let it go since he'd probably be a bit doubtful himself if he was in the Sandaime's current position.

"You wish for me to discover who the spies are. Namikaze-san is too well known for it to go unnoticed if he suddenly starts to snoop around in the higher-up's business." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

The Sandaime nodded and his smile showed that he was pleased with Naruto's conclusion.

"Exactly. I will of course make it worth your while." The Sandaime assured him. "If you do this, I'll give you full access to Konoha's shinobi library and all personelle files. You must realize how unorthodox this is, but I feel the situation warrants it."

Naruto's eyebrows rose at what he'd just heard. For the Hokage to give a complete stranger full access to all personelle files was completely unheard of. If the Council got wind of this, the Hokage himself could very well be accused of high treason. The fact that Naruto had answered favourably on an interrogation Yamanaka-style would hardly help the Sandaime if he was tried under Konoha's martial law.

"Are you aware of the risk you're putting yourself at with what you are saying?" Naruto asked incredulously.

The Sandaime nodded gravely. "Of course I am, but you must realize that the village always comes first. The spies can very well bring down Konoha from within before I have a chance to do anything about it and with the growing conflicts with Iwa I cannot afford to waste time."

Naruto could barely keep himself from gaping. "You'd risk your life for the taunting words of a Stone-nin? There might not even be any spies." Naruto pointed out. "He could've just said that in a ploy to sow doubt in Konoha in the event that I managed to survive. Actually, that may very well be the case." He continued. "Those nin were talkative and careless beyond anything I've ever encountered before. There's no way they'd have revealed information that vital to a possible enemy."

The Sandaime smiled ironically. "I have considered that of course, but the risk is there and I cannot let the possibility go un-investigated. Being Hokage means to put your life on the line no matter what if the village is in danger. I applaud your concern, but seeing as you've never been an official shinobi yourself – and certainly not a Kage – there's no way for you to understand my choice in this matter."

Naruto winced at that as a feeling of guilt and shame suddenly swept over him, but it went unnoticed as the Hokage continued his speech.

"I have thought of the possibility that the Iwa lied, but I still think this is the best possible choice I can make considering the current situation. What do you say?"

Naruto chuckled humourlessly as an amused grin graced his face. "You know? I had a friend that would've given anything for free access to the shinobi library. She was such a book-worm. If I said no to this opportunity, she's skin me alive if I ever get the chance to meet her again."

Naruto thought fondly of how Sakura had pouted and raged over the fact that she wasn't allowed free access to all levels of the library. Even as the Godaime's apprentice, she hadn't qualified for the top-secret scrolls and files. Those were only open to the Hokage and – if the Hokage gave the personal go – higher ANBU ranked shinobi.

"It is good to know that some people still have their priorities in order." The Hokage commented.

Naruto chuckled again, this time with a more humorous tone as he realized that it wasn't for nothing that the Sandaime had been nicknamed "the Professor". Of course the old man would love studying.

"So, was that a 'yes'?" The Sandaime questioned as he suddenly turned completely serious.

Naruto followed suit and nodded. "Yes, that was a 'yes'."

The old leader's smile had a trace of relief. "Good. Now we have to flesh out the paperwork to make this operation as legal as possible. I may be willing to die for my village, but there's no reason to not do my best to live to save another day."

Tension he didn't know he'd had rushed out of Naruto as he laughed freely at the Sandaime's latest joke. Somehow he had the impression that things were not as hopeless as they'd first seemed.

He may have been stranded in the past without full use of his chakra, but now at least he had the possibility to both serve Konoha and himself at the same time. He hadn't relished the thought of abandoning Konoha and the Sandaime in their hour of need, while he scampered off on some foolhardy scavenger hunt for clues about the seal he'd created and the situation he'd landed himself in.

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After many hours of fleshing out the paperwork needed, Naruto was dead on his feet and he suspected the Sandaime wasn't fairing much better. The sun had set and the Hokage-Tower was as empty as it ever got, meaning that the skeleton crew consisting of four ANBU to guard the tower and the Hokage were present somewhere outside the soundproof room. In addition a couple of chuunin working night shifts were responsible for accepting reports from missions that were completed during the night. The only other people in the tower were the cleaning personelle.

Everyone working in the tower – weather they were working day- or night-shifts – were periodically forced to undergo psychology tests to ensure that they were loyal to the Hokage and the village. The tower didn't contain the most restricted of records and information, but strict security measures were still enforced since the tower symbolized the heart and the strength of the village. It would bring down moral if the tower was broken into.

"I think we have it all." The Sandaime finally said with a relieved sigh.

Naruto stifled a satisfied yawn as he looked the documents over one last time.

Instead of going with the standardized Contract of Servitude, they had decided to write up something more specified and advanced. When Naruto and the Hokage signed the contract, Naruto officially took on the status as a Konoha shinobi again (though the Sandaime didn't know that Naruto had been one since he was twelve). His status as a shinobi was far from standardized though. Naruto couldn't be labelled with the normal ranks ranging from genin to jounin anymore. In effect, Naruto was a shinobi operating outside of the regular system because he was sworn directly to the Hokage and not to the village as a whole. This didn't interfere with the shinobi's loyalty to the village (unless the Kage was corrupt) because the Hokage's wishes essentially became the shinobi's wishes. Thus the balance of loyalty was kept between village, shinobi and Kage.

Naruto saw it as an irony to his newly selected name that his new status would make him a _ghost_ to the system.

It wasn't unheard of for a Kage to take on personally sworn shinobi, but it _was_ something that wasn't talked about and that shinobi under the rank of jounin never heard of. The only ones knowing the true identity of a ghost-shinobi would be the Kage himself, and only him.

If the Hokage died or was replaced before Naruto's resignation of the position, the next Hokage would be informed by documents sealed behind by the previous Hokage. The new Hokage would then call the ghost-shinobi in for an evaluation – where both parties evaluated each other – and then both of them had to decide if they wanted the ghost-shinobi to swear himself to the new Hokage to continue his work.

"Yes, it seems we're finally done." Naruto answered as he reached for a kunai in order to properly sign the document.

It was regular procedure to sign important documents such as these by pressing a bloodied fingerprint infused with chakra to the paper. Fingerprints weren't kept on record by the shinobi except by the hospital in case it became needed to identify a corpse by the use of finger prints. Otherwise, that particular form of identification was found wanting because most shinobi (those worth their rank) took steps to never leave their finger prints behind even at home in their own apartments. This was done by a copious use of gloves, fake fingerprints glued to the tip of their fingers, or, for the more refined, constantly manipulating chakra at the needed area to distort their own prints. Only in death (or when willingly applied to seal a deal) were fingerprints to be counted on.

Having signed the document, Naruto handed it over to the Sandaime for him to add his own chakra-infused, bloodied fingerprint.

When that was done, the Hokage rolled up the scroll and pressed his Ring of Office to it while he sent his chakra through the metal of the ring. This would ensure that only a person carrying that exact ring (the Hokage since he was the only one allowed to even touch it) would be able to open the scroll and read it. The system was nearly fool proof, seeing as the Ring of Office would only accept a new owner if all the twenty owners of the Rings of Service (given to the Council members and the ANBU Commanders) channelled chakra through the Ring of Office at the same time. This only happened when a new Hokage had been selected. To attempt the procedure outside of its permitted area of use was equivalent to being executed for high treason. No-one had attempted to meddle with the ritual yet.

All the Rings were made of platinum with a black, obsidian stone engraved with the symbol of fire. The only differences between the Rings could be found by examining the Rings' inner band for specific stones that referred to the status of the owner.

The Hokage's had a diamond fastened on the inside, the ANBU had rubies and the Council had emeralds.

A fact kept secret from everyone else was that ghost-shinobi were also granted Rings. It was popularly and jokingly referred to (by the Hokage and his ghosts) as the Ghost Rings. They were identical to the other Rings, except again for the stone on the inside. A simple worthless piece of quarts, mimicking the diamond the Hokage had.

"Here." The Sandaime said as he handed a small object over to Naruto. He'd previously channelled chakra trough his own ring and to this object before he handed it over. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the small ring he was gifted and the Sandaime took his time to explain its significance.

"This ring will let you enter all facilities in Konoha as if you were the Hokage. Nothing will be closed to you so I implore you to use it with caution. Simply channel chakra through the ring and to the metal-plate stationed on the right side of every restricted door you come across. The door's lock will open. No other ring but my own has this all purpose ability so try not to be seen using it at the most restricted areas. Those areas are usually deserted anyway so there shouldn't be any problems."

Naruto looked startled and awed at the trust he was handed.

When he noticed Naruto's expression, the Hokage smiled. "You finally understand what it means to be my personal shinobi. You now have a lot of responsibility and I hope you realize that your actions may eventually reflect on me if you are caught."

Naruto nodded gravely and the Hokage continued.

"The fact that you seem unable to channel charka outside yourself shouldn't play a factor, simply channel chakra to your blood and prick your finger on the quarts on the inside of the ring. It will function as if you'd done it the regular way as the ring will draw out the chakra in your blood."

Naruto looked up startled that the ring had been designed to account for his disability and the Hokage smiled with a trace of humour. "Sometimes there are shinobi born with a disability to channel chakra. The Nidaime – who made the design for all the rings – thought it would be unfair to exclude some shinobi just because they had an inability to properly use chakra. He believed that such people could sometimes be more qualified than others because they often had an inborn ability to think outside the box." The smile widened. "It seems he was correct."

Naruto flushed at the implied compliment as the same time as he thought about Lee and his disability to channel chakra through his nearly non-existent coils. The Sandaime saw his sudden blush, but was decent enough to pretend that he didn't notice.

"Now, to hide the ring there's an inbuilt genjutsu. You only have to press the large black stone to activate and deactivate the jutsu." The Sandaime used his own ring as an example as he made the ring disappear from view and become visible again with two hard pushes to the stone. "You have to use some force to press it down, otherwise it won't activate. It wouldn't do for the genjutsu to fail if someone were simply clumsy enough to bump into the ring.

Naruto nodded, more impressed than he could possibly express.

"There is one last thing I wish to give you before you leave my office." The Sandaime began. He stood up from the desk they had been sitting at and went into an adjoined room. When he returned he had a sealed scroll in his hands.

"This is a forbidden technique that I believe may be of use to you in your new position. The technique requires an enormous amount of chakra, but it only affects your physical body so I believe it would be ideal for you." He handed the scroll over, but didn't give Naruto an opportunity to open it before he continued to talk. "Other than that, I'm giving you a safe house, or rather a safe apartment," he grinned at Naruto's flabbergasted expression. "I assumed you didn't have a place to stay and decided to pull some strings. Don't worry." He stopped Naruto's protest before it could be voiced. "You can pay me back by doing your best to keep the village and its inhabitants safe. Oh, and before I forget, here is a forehead protector. If anyone asks you are to tell them that you are a chuunin. It may restrict your movements if you try to enter a particular restricted place while there are witnesses, but they'll either ignore you or speculate that you are from ANBU. Chuunin are the shinobi under least scrutiny in the village. We may 'raise' your public rank as time moves by, but for now we'll see how this works out. Is everything clear?"

Naruto nodded, "yes, Hokage-sama."

The Sandaime let another smile graze his features. "Call me Sarutobi. You deserve it for what you are willing to do for my village."

Naruto's eyes nearly misted over but he managed to suppress the happy reflex. The gesture saddened him too because he dearly wished to reciprocate the gesture.

"As you wish Sarutobi-sama." Naruto finally managed to say. "And you can call me Rei. Mumei-san makes me feel old… and respectable. I've never been respectable." Naruto added vehemently.

Sarutobi chuckled heartily. "Rei, then." He said. "I wish you the best of luck in your mission."

Naruto nodded and bowed to the old leader as he turned to make his way out of the room. "I don't need luck. I'll manage this on pure skill alone, and I won't disappoint you Old-man. It's a promise of a lifetime."

As Naruto opened the door to step outside, he barely caught the expression on the Hokage's face. It was a mix between amused and disgruntled, and Naruto couldn't help but laugh out loud.

When Naruto made it downstairs to the exit, he walked passed an individual that had him blanking all expression from his face quicker than you could blink.

He'd just found one of the prime suspects for his mission.

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A/N: Well, here's the next update. I warned you that they may be a bit sporadic. Hmm, this could technically mean that I won't manage to finish the next chapter that was supposed to be posted on friday again... oh well.

**Q&A:**

**Q: Will there be yaoi/slash/gay-pairings in this story?**  
_A: No. Just... no._  
**Q: But why was Obito set up as a character next to Naruto. Doesn't that mean that they'll have a romantic relationship?**  
_A: No. As some of you guessed, it a professional relationship. Naruto and Obito will eventually work together for a common goal. This will probably be far into the future...  
_**Q: Will there be a lot of romance in the story?  
**_A: Probably not unless it canon. I feel the plot is too complex for me to write in pairings and complicate matters even more. Besides, romance can sometimes be distracting.  
_**Q: Does this mean Naruto will die a virgin?  
**_A: Who said anything about dying? And do you seriously think Naruto's a twenty year old virgin after travelling and studying with Jiraiya?_

Until next time then. Eleature.


	4. Worries

Chapter 3.

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**Konoha Shinobi Library; First Keep, Level One; 10:00 GMT.**

Naruto yawned as he finally rose from the chair he'd been sitting in to stretch. He'd been working for hours now, pouring over some of the less restricted information that could be found in the shinobi library.

He'd decided to start small in his investigation. At first he planned to only access the less restricted parts of the library. Doing this, he'd get the other shinobi who frequented the library to get used to him. Then, he'd gradually start to enter higher restricted areas.

He had to make himself a persona for the benefit of the other shinobi in the village. Shinobi were a suspicious lot – the more so in times of conflict – and Naruto couldn't afford to be scrutinized too closely. As much as he hated to admit it, he had to do a _Kabuto_; meaning that he had to create a persona for himself that was anonymous, trustworthy and completely unobtrusive.

Naruto shuddered.

_Ugh! Kabuto…_

He'd decided to go for a persona that would depict him as quiet, intelligent and completely consumed by written knowledge. He'd talked it over with the Hokage, and he'd agreed to help this charade along by publicly using Naruto as some kind of personal researcher/secretary.

Mentally, Naruto groaned at what he'd gotten himself into. He may have had an unnaturally great interest for fuinjutsu, but he still loathed to spend his time reading. He was much more of a "hands on" kind of guy. Still, he sighed, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Glancing at the scrolls he'd been studying, Naruto wearily ran his hand through his hair as he sat down again.

He was reading up on Konoha's history at the moment. He needed to figure out the background of the village, her clans and the past relations with the other great shinobi villages before he did anything else. On top of that, he still had to figure out exactly _what_ he ought to do now that he was in the past. He'd already decided to change what he could for the better, but to do that he needed even more information about the current events in the world.

It seemed to him like a never ending circle of evil paperwork.

Rolling up the scrolls he'd finished reading, Naruto rose again as he went to put them back in their rightful places.

Naruto felt bone weary for once. It hadn't taken long for him to realize that reading was a lot more work than, say, sparring with Sasuke in a bad mood. His respect for Sakura's book smarts had risen exceptionally in the short week he'd lived in the village since his arrival in the past.

Other than reading old parchment covered in years-worth of dust, Naruto spent what little free-time he had in various training fields.

He had to figure out what level he was at now that he didn't have proper access to his own chakra. When he'd done that, he had to train himself to a higher level, preferably one where he'd be able to beat or – at the very least – come to a standstill with Konoha's elite.

It wouldn't do for him to figure out who all the spies were and then be killed before he could inform the Hokage simply because he was a bit inconvenienced by his own seal.

The spy he already did know about – or at least strongly suspected – would probably prove too powerful for him anyway.

It was a frustrating thought that had had Naruto banging his head against a wall on numerous occasions in the last week.

_Fucking. Asshole. _

Naruto groaned aloud at the thought of all the obstacles he was up against as he started to bang his head against the table he'd been sitting at the whole day.

He'd placed the scrolls he'd read back in place and found new ones to read through before he called it quits for the day; new scrolls that were now in danger of being squashed as he continued his self-induced abuse.

"Hey, hey, hey, now! I'm sure the scrolls started it, but you can't beat up things that are smaller than yourself."

Naruto jerked upright in surprise at the new voice as he turned around frantically in an attempt to pinpoint the source.

Inwardly, he cursed himself for not paying attention to his surroundings.

Turning around fully, he finally identified the person that had spoken and he had to tell himself mentally to continue breathing.

She was stunning.

Maybe a little short, but still… stunning.

A petite, slim body, nice curves and a stunningly bright smile was crowned by hair the colour of crimson blood.

Naruto swallowed reflexively.

"Uh… hi." He said.

She giggled.

"So, do you have a habit of attacking things smaller than yourself," she enquired jokingly.

"Uh…"

She didn't seem to notice his non-worded response as she babbled right on.

"If you do, than I really need to take you to either a shrink, or the police station. We don't tolerate violence against the helpless in this village. Say… Are you a new chuunin? I've never seen you before. Hey, I know! You're Hokage-sama's new Paper-Pusher. Rei-san, right? Hokage-sama mentioned you to me yesterday, he knows I need help finding my way in the library and he said for me to talk to you.

"You're gullible too aren't you? To take the job as Hokage-sama's new researcher I mean. He always gets the newbies to do his dirty work. Last year it was this arrogant twit named Shirohoshi or Giromoshi or something like that. I can't remember, but he was a total asshole about it, going around and bragging about being the Hokage's little Lap-dog. Can you believe it? And then he went and got himself captured by the enemies because they thought he was privileged to some really restricted information, I mean, as if the Hokage would ever be dumb enough as to let an inexperienced chuunin have access to really dangerous information."

She shook her head at the folly of both the enemy and the mysterious former Paper-Pusher before she continued her long and convoluted litany.

Naruto stared.

It was like watching Anko go all out in a fight. It was terrible to see, but you couldn't keep your eyes off it.

"…And then she said that I was too small and weak to be any good and Minato was all like; _you don't know what you're talking about._ And then I kicked her ass and it was great because I'm the best kunochi ever! Minato took me out for ramen, and I…"

Naruto blinked.

"…And shrimp ramen. And beef ramen. And vegetarian ramen. And…"

Naruto felt something inside of him break into really tiny pieces. A smile began to lighten his features.

"…And those are all of my favourite ramen flavours. Incidentally, did you know that there's a new ramen-stand in the village? It opened last week and it's called Ichiraku's. The young man running it has the best ramen ever. You have to try it out. Say, do you want to come with me? I was heading that way right after I finished my business here. My name is Kushina by the way, and yours is Rei, I knew that.

"So, do you want to come? And do you know where this scroll is supposed to be? It's why I came here. To return the scroll I mean; not to ask you to eat ramen with me …Though ramen always tastes better if you have company. Don't tell Minato I asked you out, he can be really jealous if he thinks someone's hitting on me. Men, you know! Impossible to live with, impossible to live without.

"Anyway, about that ramen," she smiled, "my treat."

Naruto could pinpoint the exact moment that all his inhibitions fell away.

"You… you…" He stuttered. "You're a fellow believer!" He cried out, finger pointing at her.

Kushina blinked.

"Huh?"

"Of the Ramen-Gods!" Naruto exclaimed joyfully as he elaborated. "You're a worshipper of the heavenly morsel known as ramen. And…" he added. "You're my new best friend. Come!" He said as he pulled the scroll out of Kushina's hands and threw it carelessly at the table. "Let us go pay homage to our gods."

Kushina smiled brilliantly as they linked their arms and made their way towards the ramen stand. "And afterwards," the spirited redhead added as they stepped outside the building, "lets do something to liven up the village a little. It's been too depressing here lately."

Naruto smirked conspiratorially, "I know the perfect way to fix that problem, but come, let us talk it over as we eat."

Kushina smiled delightedly and pulled Naruto along as she sped up.

It was the beginning of a long and terrible friendship that would last the rest of their lives.

Far up in the Hokage-Tower, the venerable leader felt an ominous chill of foreboding skitter along his spine as he glanced in the direction of the shinobi-library. Somehow, he simply knew that it was caused by the worst troublemaker in the city, Uzumaki Kushina. After all, he'd never met a clan as prone to chaos as the Uzumaki clan, and he thanked the Kami daily that the fiery redhead hadn't gotten around to procreating yet.

Kami only knew what would happen if there ever lived more than _one _of the Uzumaki clan in the village at once.

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**Konoha Proper; Ichiraku's; 11:15 GMT.**

Sitting at the counter at Ichiraku's, Naruto laughed heartily at something Kushina had just told him about her fiancé Minato.

It seemed the fiery redhead knew a lot of embarrassing stories starring the future Hokage. Naruto couldn't help but feel privileged to hear them, and in return he told her stories of his own team's mishaps – with-holding the fact that they were a shinobi team at all, and alluding to them only being mischievous children.

Kushina had obviously relished his own stories and was as caught up in laughter as he was.

Naruto had to admit to himself that he had needed the opportunity to relax and joke around with someone. His own quest for knowledge and the Hokage's mission had had him strung tight in agitation for the last couple of days. It was a blessing to be able to forget his own worries for a brief moment.

"And who do we have here?" A voice Naruto recognized broke into their chorus of laughter.

Turning away from the counter, Naruto carefully kept a blank, but still curious expression on his face. He had to keep in mind that officially, he'd never met the person in front of him before.

Kushina was more forwards and open in her greeting.

"Minato!" She cried, launching herself towards the tall blonde in front of her.

Minato's eyes widened in surprise as he quickly brought his hands up to catch her.

"This is Rei, he's Hokage-sama's new Paper-pusher. The poor guy was totally swamped in paperwork when I gallantly swept in to save him from the evils of the written word.

"Rei, this is Minato; my fiancé who I told you about. He might look intimidating, but he's really just a big teddy bear." Kushina smiled brilliantly at both of them.

Naruto stifled a laugh, resulting in a barely disguised cough as he met Minato's eyes.

Personally, Naruto would've never found the tall blonde to be intimidating unless he'd seen first-hand how fast the jounin was. It also helped to know that this would be the person who single-handedly faced and sealed the great Nine-Tails. With that in mind, Naruto would always be plenty wary of facing the future Yondaime in an all out battle.

…Still, he couldn't help but find it both amusing and reassuring to hear the petite redhead describe the legendary Yondaime as a teddy bear.

Naruto stifled a laugh again.

The future Hokage looked less amused as he scowled at the small woman still in his arms. Finally, after a drawn out staring contest with said female (which she won), he sighed and released her carefully.

Kushina's smile widened, confident in her ability to cow the male-race.

Naruto briefly looked away at the scene, not at all confident that he would be able to keep from laughing if the red-head continued to put the blonde in his place while Naruto witnessed it.

Sighing again as he realized that he'd never get his way when it came to the person he loved above all, Minato finally gave up with a shake of his head. Then he turned his attention to Naruto.

"Hello Rei-san. I'm Namikaze Minato, but from what Kushina indicated, you probably already know more about me than I'm comfortable with."

Naruto smiled disarmingly as he bowed politely to the blonde. "Mumei Rei; newly promoted chuunin," he introduced himself. "I'm at your service if you ever need help finding your way in the library."

Minato bowed back, warily keeping part of his attention on the red-head bouncing at his side.

Kushina seemed to find the formalities both unnecessary and boring as she jumped in to shift the males' attention back on herself.

"Pleasure, I'm sure. Listen, Minato, could you help us with something?" She interjected.

Minato felt a chill run down his spine as he recognized the mischievous glint in his fiancé's eyes. Getting a terrible feeling of foreboding, he briefly glanced at Rei, one thought running through his mind; _Surely, there couldn't be two of them?_

Recognizing the identical glint of mischief in Rei's eyes, Minato realized with sudden dread that; _Yes. Yes there could._

Konoha was doomed.

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**Konoha Shinobi Library; First Keep, Level One; 22:00 GMT.**

Naruto was back at the library, this time with a significant lift in both his working-morale and his mood.

Pulling a good prank and spending time with people he could come to treasure and love did a great number on his self-esteem.

It hadn't been easy for Naruto and Kushina to secure Minato's help in pranking the village. In the end Naruto had to promise to spar with Minato at his first moment of spare time. Naruto was a bit wary of how the spar would go considering his own lack of conventional chakra, but still considered it to be a small price to pay for what they'd done to the village walls with the help of Minato and his Flying Thunder God Technique.

He snickered privately to himself as he heard traces of agitated voices reaching him in the stuffed air of the library.

The shinobi of the village would have a hell of a time straightening out who owned what of all the objects decorating the outer, protective wall of the village.

Kushina and Naruto hadn't pulled any punches when they brainstormed over what they should include in their prank.

Fastened to the outer wall with various kunai, senbon and shurinken, were personal objects belonging to both civilians and shinobi ranging from underwear to cooking utensils and private collections of the infamous Icha-Icha-Series.

It had amused Naruto to no end that he'd even found one single copy from the orange book-series carefully hidden under the pillow in Kakashi's apartment. _Well…_ he'd considered._ Boys will be boys after all._ Still, it was a bit disconcerting that his silver-haired sensei had started his perverted habits when he was still only ten years of age.

Shrugging off how creeped-out he was by Kakashi's reading habits – though he supposed he couldn't judge, he'd personally betaed some of Jiraiya's future volumes – Naruto turned his mind to what he had gleaned after studying Minato's repeated use of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

He found the technique completely fascinating. It hadn't taken him long to realize that Minato used some form of dimensional seals combined with a blood contract to achieve the instantaneous teleportation that the technique produced.

Naruto wasn't completely new to the concept.

He knew for a fact that both Sasuke and Jiraiya had been known to use their summoning contacts to teleport long distances by somehow entering their summons, leaving the know reality and then – by travelling through the dimension of the specific summoned creature – reappear somewhere else in the mortal dimension nearly instantaneous.

Still, he found Minato's technique to both be more useful and all around more effective. For one, it used less chakra, most of the required chakra already having been stored in the seal used for the technique. This resulted in the technique only needing the minimal chakra required to ignite and release the seal and its' effects. In the field, this meant that Minato would be able to use his technique nearly infinitely as long as he'd made the seals beforehand.

Second. The technique was a lot faster than using summons for teleportation.

Third. The technique was a lot more precise. From what Naruto had gleaned, the seals would bring the user within centimetres of the area where the seal was located. Teleportation by use of summons could be off by as much as a mile if the user didn't have proper time to prepare before using it, or alternatively, if he didn't know the area well enough to pinpoint the exact location he would appear back in the mortal dimension. Naruto knew that Sasuke cheated by having allies releasing specially grafted seals to act like beacons for the summoned creatures to hone in on to guide their reappearance in the mortal realm.

The only drawback to the technique that Naruto could see was that it needed the seals to function, meaning that the technique wouldn't be effective for infiltration, or long distance travelling unless Minato had managed to get allies to plant seals beforehand in the areas Minato wanted to appear in. But then again, from what Naruto knew about how Minato used the technique, it had been created simply as an offensive technique.

And as an offensive technique to use in battle against a large number of assailants, it was flawless.

Still, for all that Naruto had managed to find out about the technique, there were still details to it that he couldn't even begin to imagine the answer to.

For example, how did Minato actually activate the seals?

Naruto had watched how the future Hokage had used special three-pronged kunai grafted with the teleportation seal. The blonde jounin had thrown a lot of the special kunai towards the wall and even before the kunai had hit, he'd been in motion.

It had been a treat to see and Naruto very much doubted that he'd ever have been privileged enough to get to watch the technique used fully out first hand unless Kushina had talked Minato into using it.

It seemed to Naruto that the future Yondaime could somehow control which seal to activate, and when to activate it. Exactly _how_ Minato managed to do this, Naruto hadn't the slightest clue. It made him realize that the blonde jounin might actually be leagues above himself.

Minato seemed to be in a class of his own. It was no wonder that he'd been lauded as the greatest genius ever produced by a Hidden Village.

In addition to all this, Naruto had noticed that every time Minato activated a seal, he could feel it at the edge of his consciousness as a slight pull on his own awareness.

Noticing that no one else seemed to feel or sense this, Naruto had decided to not mention it to either Kushina or Minato. Who knew what either of them could glean from such an admission? No, it wouldn't do for Naruto to release any information about himself unless he understood and could predict the results of his actions and words.

The sound of a door opening to Naruto's section of the library revealed that Naruto had company and he started to organize and archive the mess in front of him.

It was about time for him to leave the library for the day anyway and he really didn't fancy the idea of others finding out that he was reading about Konoha's _Ruling Three_. If word got out about Naruto's interest in such information, there'd be a whole lot of mess to clear up. Even if he was currently reading the least restricted of it.

Stashing the last of the documents he'd been reading back in their proper place, Naruto passed the two shinobi who had entered as he made his way towards the door.

He managed to catch some of their conversation before the door closed behind him.

"…And I heard that Hokage-sama's viewing-ball and his pipe was found pinned to the main gate of the village." There was admiration in the speaker's voice. "I wonder who's behind. No doubt they'd be assigned exclusively to the night-shift for a _year_ if the Hokage ever finds out."

"You think that's impressive?" The other one interjected. "_I_ heard that Tsunade-sama's bra was found tied to the flag-post at the Registration Office. I didn't even know she _owned_ one. Forget Hokage-sama's punishment. Think about what the Hime will do if she ever finds the perpetrator."

They both shuddered in sympathy and horror.

Naruto _grinned._

The door slammed shut behind him.

010101010101

**Hokage Tower; the Hokage's Office****; 23:30 GMT.**

The elderly Hokage steepled his fingers as he regarded the ANBU standing at attention in his office.

No matter the insecurities regarding the higher-ups in his village, he trusted _this_ particular ANBU Commander implicitly.

"So," he started. "What impression do you have of the chuunin Mumei Rei?"

The ANBU barely shifted, but it was enough to bring the person out of the shadows of the room and into the meagre light produced by a sparse scattering of lighted candles.

The warm yellow light from the candles, illuminated a blank white mask, the only mark on it was the leaf of Konoha. It was the mask of a Hunter; an ANBU belonging to the Hunter and Retrieval Division.

"Mumei Rei seems to be genuine in his wish to find the traitors in the village. He works diligently and with as much discretion as he can manage. Still, he is an intelligent person and a great actor – as his name indicates. For now I believe him to be trustworthy." The Hunter concluded.

The Professor's eyes sharpened but other than that he gave no sign that he had heard the report.

"Trustworthy?" He repeated back to the ANBU.

The ANBU kept silent, knowing that the question was rhetorical at the moment.

"On what do you base this impression?" The Hokage finally asked.

The ANBU's head tilted sideways, giving the impression of some sort of curious strange ghoul or animal.

The Hokage barely suppressed a shudder. Those masks were made to be intimidating and disconcerting and they certainly did their job.

"Mumei Rei is in the possession of a sense of humour. It has long been established that people striving for undue power over others take themselves and everything else too seriously."

The Hokage nodded, already knowing this. Then something occurred to him. "Do you mean to indicate that Mumei-san was behind today's occurrences at the great wall?"

The Hokage couldn't help but feel that there was an undue amount of amusement behind the reply he received.

"Amongst others."

_Was the damned ANBU laughing?_

Secretly disgruntled, Sarutobi decided to let the matter lie as he unobtrusively straightened the newly returned viewing-globe on his desk. The village wide prank had not been malicious after all, and it had distracted the civilians from the tense atmosphere saturating the village the last few months.

What really put him off was _how_ the prank had been pulled. How had the perpetrators managed to break into some of the most guarded offices and apartments in the village without getting caught even once?

The Hokage vowed to increase the security in the village proper.

"Still," he couldn't help but add. "His apparent sense of humour is not enough to validate him as completely trustworthy. All who have evaluated him has already claimed that he is a great actor. It is difficult to separate truth from lies when it comes to our new chuunin."

The ANBU didn't comment and Sarutobi continued. "I want you to continue your observance. Be as unobtrusive as you can. As you said, he is intelligent. There's no need to alert him to my lack of trust."

The ANBU bowed. "As you command Hokage-sama."

When the ANBU didn't immediately leave after that, the Hokage knew that the Hunter had something to ask.

"You wonder about something?" He asked, allowing the ANBU's breach of protocol.

"Yes." Was the short reply.

The Hokage nodded for the ANBU to continue.

"Hokage-sama. Please forgive me for asking, but aren't there others more suited for this mission? Mumei-san seems very social… His interaction today with Namikaze-san and Uzumaki-san seems to indicate that he-"

The ANBU stopped talking at the Hokage's raised hand.

"I know that this mission may seem demeaning to your station and skills Commander, but you are the only one I trust to perform it. The other ANBU Commanders may be implicated and thus their subordinates too. And I dare not reveal the possibility of traitors to your own subordinates, not only may they be at risk, but they are also a lot less experienced than you. You must understand," he said. "I place a lot of trust in you by revealing even a small part of what I suspect."

The ANBU kept silent for a while before finally nodding. "Of course Hokage-sama. Please forgive my insubordination and doubt. It is not my place to question you."

The Hokage waved the response away. "There is nothing to forgive."

The lights didn't even flicker as the ANBU left.

010101010101

**Konoha; Naruto's apartment; 01:05 GMP.**

Naruto stared blearily at the parchment in front of him. Aware that it was probably too late for him to even attempt to make any sense of the scroll he'd received from the Hokage.

_-For this jutsu to work properly, the user must be wi__lling to endure excruciating pain.-_

_Excruciating pain?_ Naruto didn't really like how that sounded, but he kept on reading.

_-In addition, the user has to __have a source of chakra far outstripping that which is considered above average in the shinobi world. Be advised that very few jounin have ever completed this technique to its perfection. The technique requires…-_

_Chakra far above the average? Well, I've got that at least._ Naruto sighed to himself as he tried to look on the bright side.

The jutsu he'd received from the Hokage was insanely complex, but when completed perfectly, it would be invaluable for Naruto's use.

Not only did the jutsu require insane amounts of chakra, but it also demanded that the user had an intimate knowledge concerning anatomy and perfect concentration skills.

_Well, I guess that means even more studying._ Naruto couldn't help but feel that someone was out to get him by ways of cramming his head so full of information that eventually it'd explode from the overload. Or, alternatively, the reading would bore him to death.

Naruto sighed again. This time; _heavily_.

Finally deciding that he wouldn't get more done this night, Naruto put the jutsu-scroll away and went to bed.

Tomorrow would undoubtedly turn out to be another hectic day.

010101010101

Naruto's days continued in a pattern much the same as his first week in Konoha.

He spend his mornings in the training grounds, attempting to make up for his lack of chakra. He'd taken up intensive taijutsu training again in addition to accuracy in use of projectiles and had even managed to con a jounin by the name of Gekkou to teach him the basics of kenjutsu.

The man; Tansen Gekkou was training his own young son; Hayate Gekkou in some form of kenjutsu as well. Naruto was polite enough to not ask about it. The Kenjutsu was obviously a family secret and it wasn't Naruto's place to learn it.

He had to admit that the child was uncommonly good though. He seemed to have been born to the sword, flowing nearly flawlessly from stance to stance and he was still so young that most children were only playing at being shinobi.

What surprised even more was the sickly state of the child. Hayate was often wracked by terrible coughing fits and Naruto thought him to look incredibly worn out and tired what with the large dark bags decorating Hayate's eyes.

Naruto couldn't help but feel both pride and pity for the boy. He tried really hard, but would probably never achieve more than chuunin if his health didn't improve.

As a thank you to the boy's father, Naruto agreed to act as the kid's sparring partner while they both trained. It often led to rather humiliating defeats by a kid shorter than the average six-year-old. Frankly, Naruto couldn't even figure out how the short brat managed to hold a katana.

In the end it was Naruto's hope that he'd manage to use the basics he learned to develop a kenjutsu-style of his own. With the access he had to the shinobi library, it shouldn't be too hard for him to find inspiration when the time came for him to expound on his learning.

When he was done training for the day Naruto entered the library where he studied diligently 'till the evenings unless he was interrupted by either Kushina or a missive from the Hokage.

His studies now were quite varied, lending credence to the idea that Naruto was a researcher for the Hokage. It was a well known fact that Konoha's Kage was obsessed when it concerned the gaining of new knowledge. No-one would be surprised that the village leader ran his personal paper-pusher ragged with all his demands.

In addition to studying about Konoha's Ruling Three, Naruto also read up on the basics of human anatomy and the beginner's guide to sealing.

He had already passed the beginner's stage while studying with Jiraiya, but Naruto figured that it couldn't harm him to get a refresher. Sealing was one of the few areas of expertise that could really capture and hold Naruto's attention when it concerned reading.

In the evenings, Naruto went home to meditate and relax. Sometimes, he read from the Hokage's scroll, but mostly he just spent the time to assimilate what he'd done that day and what he had learned.

If the fancy struck him, he spent time on the seals he'd started to construct before the insane time-travelling had even occurred. It was both therapeutic for him to do, and it gave him ideas for the future if he never managed to get back to his proper time by unconventional means.

Presently, he mostly figured that the safest route of returning was to take it a year at the time, like everybody else did. Still… if even a slightest possibility existed for speeding the process up…

010101010101

**Konoha Shinobi Library; First Keep, Level Two; 13:47 GMT.**

_-The Triangle of Command, popularly referred to as the Ruling Three are the three ruling forces in Fire Country and Konohagakure. __The three ruling forces are made up of three 'seats' or institutions meant to balance each other out in the governing of the Country of fire and the Hidden Village of Konoha. The Ruling Three are:_

_The Daimyo – The Lord of Fire Country_

_The Hokage – The Lord of Konohagakure_

_The Council of Fire – A governing institution made up of inherited and selected seats._

_As noted before, the Triangle of Command is meant to balance each other out so that none of the governing forces holds too much power at any given moment in time. _

_The Daimyo governs the areas and the subjects pertaining to civilian life. This includes trade, agriculture and enforcing laws not pertaining to military activity. The Daimyo may force the Council into action if it pertains to civilian matters or if the Council cannot reach majority in their votes concerning a specific matter. The position is hereditary._

_The Hokage governs the area and subjects pertaining to military life. This includes the governing and running of Konohagakure, the shinobi living in or visiting the Country of Fire and the enforcement of military and martial law. The Hokage may force the Daimyo to act after the Hokage's wishes if the matter pertains to military activity. The position is elected on the basis of combat skill, leadership skill and organisational skill._

_The Council is represented by both civilians and shinobi and is supposed to act as an advising organ to the Hokage. In addition the Council functions as a link between the Daimyo and the Hokage, wherein the Council has the task of governing the Daimyo's areas of expertise within Konohagakure proper. The Council may force the Hokage to take specific actions if the Council has a clear majority of 4/5 in a specific matter. The Council consists of Clan Heads (hereditary), ANBU Commanders (appointed by the Hokage) and Elders (elected)._

_For more information concerning the Triangle of Command; see Konoha Shinobi Library; Third Keep, Level Three and Level X.-_

Naruto rolled the scroll closed as he tipped his chair back to stare pensively on the table in front of him.

It seemed like he needed to access even higher levels to get the information he needed. Ha had hoped that Level Two would be enough to enlighten him to the identities of the higher-ups in the village, but it seemed he was out of luck for the moment.

True, he now knew that the Clan Heads were included in the Ruling Three, in fact he'd known that beforehand so it didn't exactly help. What he needed to find out was the exact identities of all the Clan Heads, the ANBU Commanders and the Elders…

Information like that didn't exactly grow on trees.

If he asked around carefully he shouldn't have too much trouble in getting the names of the Clan Heads and the Elders. The ones difficult to identify would be the ANBU Commanders.

Secret identities were bothersome, Naruto finally decided with a tired sigh.

010101010101

**Konoha Proper; Shopping District Five; 21:06 GMT.**

"Mumei-san, wait a second!"

Naruto stopped and turned at he familiar voice.

Minato was walking leisurely towards him, his team trudging faithfully behind him like ducklings behind their mother.

Naruto covered a grin at the mental image.

"Yes?" He asked when Minato had reached him. "And please call me Rei, using my surname makes me feel old."

Minato smiled, "of course. And you may call me Minato."

Naruto nodded, acknowledging the right given to him… _again._

"I don't believe you've met my team yet." Minato said as he formally introduced his team again.

The genin and the single chuunin nodded in greeting, none of them showing signs that they'd met Naruto before. Naruto was secretly impressed. At the age of ten, he'd never have been able to show the restraint that these particular children did.

"So," Naruto said once the formalities were over with. "What brings you to my corner of the village?"

Minato grinned impishly as he began to walk beside Naruto, his team now trailing behind both of them, desperate to hear some gossip.

"You still owe me a spar." Minato said.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Heh-heh… I guess I do."

He really didn't want to fight the blonde jounin, after all, he'd_ seen_ what Minato was capable of when he used his teleportation technique.

Minato glanced at him from the corner of his eye. "Still busy in the library then?"

Naruto sighed and nodded morosely. "It's a nightmare I tell you. Without Kushina's timely interference I'd be driven crazy within the first month."

Minato chuckled. "Most would worry about Kushina driving people crazy."

Naruto blinked. "Whatever for? She'd the most awesome person I've ever met."

Minato's eyes sharpened, but his tone filled with amusement. "Don't tell me I need to start chaperoning your encounters?"

Naruto grinned impishly. "Nah… If you do, we wouldn't be able to do what we both love and live for."

Minato shuddered and Naruto couldn't stop the laughter from escaping as he noticed the terrified gleam in the taller blonde's eyes. "Don't tell me Tsunade-Hime is on to us?"

Minato scowled. "Don't joke about it. If she ever finds out that I was in on it, she'd skin both me _and_ my sensei."

Naruto waved his hand reassuringly. "Relax, your secret's safe with me. Besides if she'd skin you, she'd probably castrate me if she ever found _I _helped to talk you into it."

Minato nodded, somewhat reassured. "True. So, about that spar?"

Naruto frowned and looked away. "I could probably manage to meet you in a training field tomorrow morning." He finally said.

Minato brightened up. "Seven?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sure."

"Great! I'll see you there. Come along ducklings!" Minato directed the last part at his students as he sped up down the street, leaving Naruto's roaring laughter behind them.

Naruto couldn't believe that the blonde jounin had said that, but it certainly made his day.

010101010101

**Hokage Tower; the Hokage's Office; 23:01 GMT.**

The ANBU Commander appeared without a sound only alerting the Hokage by a deliberate shift in chakra.

"Yes?" The Hokage asked as he rearranged some of the documents on his desk.

"Mumei-san is showing signs of exhaustion." The Hunter said without preamble.

Sarutobi frowned, but is was unknown if it was because of worry or irritation.

"The cause?" He finally asked as he pulled out his pipe and began to stuff it with tobacco.

"He doesn't sleep nearly enough and he uses every waking moment of the day to either train or study. In addition I have noticed that he only leaves the library to eat if Uzumaki-san comes to distract him with ramen. Other than that, he only eats a small breakfast and a quick meal before bed."

The Hokage nodded as he put his pipe in his mouth.

"Anything else?"

"He made a deal to spar with Namikaze-san tomorrow morning at seven. If you wish to learn more about the chuunin's abilities, I would advice you to watch."

The Professor raised his eyebrows in surprise as he nodded to the suggestion. "Maybe I will, if work allows it."

Mumei Rei's abilities were still mostly a secret when it came to combat abilities. Even the Hokage hadn't managed to glean more than the barest of generals concerning his ghost's abilities. Mostly he'd let it pass because he knew that Rei was still settling into the experience of not being able to properly use chakra. It would be enlightening to see what the blonde would be able to do with his handicap.

But first, first things first.

"I will talk to Mumei-san concerning his eating and sleeping habits. His mission is important, but he will not be of any use if he is too tired or hungry to think properly."

The ANBU Commander shifted. "As you say Hokage-sama."

The Hunter was about to leave when the Hokage spoke again. "I believe Mumei-san to be trustworthy at the moment. You may stop the twenty-four-hour surveillance, but I still wish you to check up on the chuunin once in a while. Give me a report monthly about his progress."

"As you command, Hokage-sama."

The office was empty once again of any mask wearing ANBU.

Sarutobi tapped the ash out of his pipe as he turned to regard the night-sky outside his window.

Mumei was becoming more of a mystery by the moment, but he was also working with all he had to better serve the village and the Hokage. Sarutobi couldn't help but be both impressed and worried.

What were Mumei's motivations? What pushed Mumei to act beyond his own limits?

Shifting his gaze to the documents stacked at a corner of his desk, the old Hokage couldn't help but feel apprehensive about what was to come in the future.

One of the papers on his desk was a report from the border patrol. It seemed that the nin captured by Minato and his team had been assassinated yesterday. The report had been sent by pigeon – the quickest way of communicating over long distances that the shinobi had.

_And the plot thickens…_ the Hokage privately thought.

Exactly who would have the resource and the opportunity to assassinate the captured nin? Were Konoha-nin even behind it? Couldn't Iwa-nin have decided to silence one of their own if they believed him to be a threat.

There were too many questions and uncertainties and not nearly enough answers.

010101010101

**Q&A:  
****Q: Who's the person Naruto has pegged as a spy?  
**A: Ahahahaha! Cough. Not telling.  
**Q: Will there be any pairings that induces teeth-gritting, womiting, headaches, nervous ticks or other symptoms stemming from bad romances?  
**A: No. At least I do not believe so.  
**Q: How old are Kakashi, Obito and Rin?  
**A: Ten.  
**Q: Will Naruto get his chakra coils untangled any time soon?  
**A: No. It will happen, but not anytime soon. Doing so now would make Naruto a Gary-Stu.  
**Q: Will Naruto be paired with anyone?  
**A: No, not unless he has a one-night stand, or something like that. Besides I don't write lemons/smutt so if you're looking for that, you should find another story.  
**Q: What does GMT stand for and what does it mean?  
**A: GMT - GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) uses a 24 hour clock instead of a.m. and p.m. Thus, 11 p.m. at night would be **23:00 GMT**. At 1 in the afternoon (p.m.) it would be 13:00 GMT. (And yes, I know that GMT isn't used anymore, but I figured ninja would be partial to its use. Look it up on the internet if you want to know more about it.)

Question from me: Should I keep the information on the location at the beginning of each new story-section?

If you have any more questions mention them in a review and I'll try to answer you.

Eleature.

(Edited: 12.07.07)


	5. Sparring

Chapter 4.

010101010101

**Outskirts of Konoha; Training-ground Five; 06:50 GMT.**

Training-ground Five was a huge clearing of hard-packed dirt surrounded by trees that were once part of the forest now residing beyond the Great Wall of Konoha.

The largest training-grounds belonging to Konoha; like the Forest of Death and other large enclosed training-areas made for practical simulations of C-, B- and A-rank missions, were located outside of Konoha's walls and Konoha proper.

Smaller training-grounds; like training-ground Five, were located at the outer edge of Konoha proper, but not outside the Great Wall. Konoha proper was what people referred to when they were talking about the living-, shopping- and administrative-districts of Konoha.

When Naruto arrived at the agreed upon training-ground, he wasn't prepared at all for what he saw. If he didn't know better, he would guess that half of the genin and chuunin in the village were present. He could even see a couple of jounin and the Hokage himself standing in the back of the large crowd.

_What the hell?_

Recognizing Obito and Rin, he approached them silently, wary of all of the unknown the people surrounding him.

_What's going on here? Did I remember the wrong time or the wrong place? _Naruto wondered silently to himself.

It seemed as if a great event had been planned for this particular training ground. Maybe the Hokage was going to demonstrate a jutsu or something; Naruto reasoned as he finally reached the two genin he'd been angling for.

"Hello Rin-chan, Obito-kun," Naruto greeted as he nodded to them in greeting.

At the sound of his voice, the two genin turned around to properly address him. "Rei-san!" they both said at the same time. It sounded as if they were surprised about the fact that he was there.

Smiling uneasily at them, Naruto rubbed the back of his head absently. "Could you tell me what's going on here?"

Their eyes widened. "What do you mean; _what's going on?_ You should know. You're the one about to fight sensei." Obito exclaimed accusingly with a finger pointed at Naruto.

Naruto frowned in confusion and aggravation at Obito's loud voice. He didn't want anyone to bring attention to him. "Well, yeah," he answered, "I thought so too, but then why are all these other people here?" Naruto asked.

Obito blinked, clearly not seeing anything out of the ordinary by the appearance of all the people. "Well, you're going to spar with sensei, right? Why wouldn't they want to come for that?" Obito finally asked.

Naruto was nonplussed. Clearly he was missing something.

Maybe Rin would give a better explanation. He looked at her expectantly for enlightenment.

Rin sighed in exasperation. "Sensei's fights are legendary. No-one sane would give up the chance to see sensei use his techniques. Most of them were developed and perfected by sensei himself. He's a genius in more fields than sealing.

"Frankly, when word got around that a chuunin had agreed to spar with sensei, most thought it was either a joke or that you would chicken out. You'd have to be suicidal to willingly agree to meet sensei at the sharp end of his kunai."

Naruto frowned. "But it's just a spar," he defended himself.

Obito snorted. "There's no such think as _just a spar_ when it comes to sensei. Lately the only ones willing to spar with him have been his own sensei; Jiraiya and the Hokage himself, and even Jiraiya is wary at such occasions."

"You forget Kushina-san," Rin interjected, "She's willing to fight him too."

Obito snorted again. "Yeah, well! She doesn't count on the grounds that she's his fiancé. There's no way sensei would ever hurt her and besides, she's crazy anyway… always turning into a berserker when the situation gets too hot. Not even Jiraiya is willing to spar with _her._"

Naruto blinked. Huh! He'd never seen Kushina as a possible threat. She was so short and _cheery_ all the time. There's no way she'd be able to… _hmm… hold that thought. She kind of reminds me of someone… hmm…_

Before he could find the answer to his own inner dialogue, he finally understood the implications of what the two genin had told him.

"Wait a second!" he exclaimed, "Do you mean to tell me that all these people are here to see me spar with Minato?" Oh Kami, he hoped not.

Both of them nodded, completely nonplussed.

_Fuck._

He was about to call the whole deal and do what most people expected of him – to flee – when a tingling at the back of his mind warned him that someone was coming.

A flash of yellow light later and he was standing face to face with the person he was coming to think of as the bane of his existence.

"You're here! Excellent," Minato grinned excitedly.

People turned to watch them at the sound of Minato's voice.

_Double fuck._

"So, what are the rules going to be?" Minato asked far too cheerfully as he dragged Naruto to the centre of the enormous clearing. People were already backing away to the tree line, presumable to get out of harms way and to get a better view.

The only approaching person was the familiarly dressed Hokage and for a brief, blessed second, Naruto truly believed that the old coot could get him out of the situation.

It was not to be.

"I'm willing to referee," The Sandaime said, equally as cheerfully as Minato.

Naruto groaned aloud.

Minato's smile only widened. He seemed like a hyped up kid in a candy store who'd recently gotten his allowance.

"So, rules?" Minato asked again, addressing the Hokage this time for suggestions.

_I'm doomed._ Naruto realized as he noticed the mischievous gleam in the old man's eyes. Somehow, Naruto got the feeling that someone had blabbed about Naruto's role in the village-wide prank that had been pulled some weeks ago.

"Oh, I believe an all out would be appropriate. It's been so long since you've had the chance for a real work-out and my researcher has been spending far too much time in the library lately. Some action will be good for him."

Naruto choked.

"Of course," the Sandaime continued. "Try not to kill each other. Third blood wins."

_Oh swell,_ Naruto thought. That meant that the winner would be the one who managed to make his opponent bleed three times.

After agreeing to the rules – very reluctantly on Naruto's part – the Hokage drew beck a little as he raised his hand in an all-clear signal. When he dropped it, the fight would commence.

As he readied himself, Naruto vaguely noticed that Kakashi had arrived too and that he was perched on a tree not far from his two team-mates. Under him again, leaning casually against the tree-trunk, Kushina could be distinguished by her fiery, red hair and her shit-eating grin. She was obviously enjoying this far too much.

"And begin!" The Sandaime's voice rang out loudly and clearly.

Naruto _moved,_ running for all he was worth in the opposite direction of his adversary

His surroundings _blurred._

At the speed he was going, Naruto barely managed to throw himself to the right as a tree-pronged kunai whizzed passed him and instinct told him that Minato was right in front of him.

Skidding to a crouching stop, one knee and one hand supporting him on the ground, Naruto locked gazes with his opponent. Minato seemed mildly surprised that Naruto had managed to avoid him. Evidently he'd forgotten how Naruto had acted against him with great speed when they first met.

Silence reigned from the audience. They were all apparently too much in shock to do or say _anything._ Naruto's actions were unheard of. No-one had been able to avoid Minato's technique by mere speed alone. Even the Sandaime used underhanded tactics like traps to make sure that Minato wouldn't take him down by the use of his Flying Thunder God Technique.

Slowly releasing a pent up breath, Naruto steadied himself as he rose completely from his position on the ground.

Minato didn't move. His gaze was assessing, weighing heavily on Naruto's many secrets.

Naruto barely managed to keep back a grimace. He knew that sparring with Minato hadn't been a good idea. The large audience they had only made it worse.

Loosening his kunai-holster, Naruto grabbed one as he continued to meet Minato's harsh gaze. They both tensed simultaneously.

Naruto was moving in the opposite direction again as soon as the kunai left his hand.

Using the Replacement Technique with a nearby log to get out of the kunai's path, Minato emerged from the tree line on the farthest end of Naruto's location.

Noticing this, Naruto sighed in relief as he stopped his mad escape. Just how was he supposed to go about sparring against _Minato_ of all the people in Konoha? All he had at his disposal was speed, projectile weapons and some rudimentary seals.

The audience seemed to sense the temporary cease-fire from the two people sparring and then they all erupted in a cacophony of noise as bets were placed on the winner.

Naruto felt that the on-lookers were taking this spar with far too much aplomb.

_Ignore them._ He admonished himself. _You are Uzumaki Naruto. There's no way you'll let him take you down without a fight. You never give up, remember!_

He kind of though it was a bad sign that he was pep-talking himself.

Before Naruto could come up with a viable plan, Minato made another move, this time rushing towards Naruto by use of pure speed. Naruto couldn't help but be impressed – and preoccupied – as he quickly brought hishand up to block a downwards thrust that his opponent had made with a regular kunai.

Normally, it would be unadvisable to block powerful thrusts with only _one_ arm, but Naruto had mastered the trick of enforcing his own muscles with chakra long before he ever landed in the past.

Bringing up his own kunai to attack, Minato was forced to jump back as steel met steel in a clash of bright sparks.

For this part of the fight at least, it seemed that Minato was willing to only use taijutsu.

Naruto refused to acknowledge the relief he felt.

They went at each other again; spinning, kicking, blocking, evading, somersaulting, stabbing and hitting at each other until they worked up quite a bit of sweat.

Even Naruto with his insane amount of stamina was beginning to feel some strain in his muscles.

Naruto ducked under a high kick made by Minato, and then he followed the move up by swinging his own leg around in a low arch in an attempt to kick the jounin off balance. Minato predicted the move and was already moving backwards, throwing a kunai at Naruto's head even as he retreated.

Naruto cursed mentally and pushed himself flat to the ground as the kunai whizzed by an inch above his head. He was far too preoccupied to notice the second kunai hidden in the first's shadow.

"First blood to Minato." The Hokage called out as Naruto felt the harsh sting of steel biting into his left cheek.

Panting lightly, Naruto pushed himself to his feet again, trying in a vain attempt to figure out where his opponent disappeared to. Wiping the perspiration on his brow away with his sleeve, he carefully kept his attention on his surroundings.

The clearing he was in seemed to be abandoned if he didn't count himself and the peanut-gallery that were watching avidly from the sidelines.

The clearing was silent; no sound was made as Naruto carefully scanned it once again.

He'd been sparring with the blonde jounin for nearly fifty minutes now and he couldn't for the life of him understand why he was still standing and why he'd only received _one _cut. (The wound was already healed.)

If it hadn't been for that nifty instinct he had to sense when Minato used his teleportation technique, he'd have been done for within the first second of the match. It had also helped a lot that he had focused on a lot of speed training when he was training by himself in the mornings.

With the help of his chakra and his own insane healing abilities, he'd developed a technique to work his muscles much harder than what was normal. He'd essentially made his chakra work against his own muscles when he trained. This had led to the muscles tearing and then being healed up better than before. If he had to make a guess, he figured that he was about as fast as Lee had been without weights when they'd first taken the chuunin exam.

He still couldn't even compare to either Lee's or Gai's future speed – meaning the speed they had achieved by the time he went back in time – but he hoped to reach their speed records sometime in the near future. Maybe he'd reach his goal in a couple of more years if he trained diligently.

There was still no movement to be seen or sensed in the clearing.

It made him nervous.

Minato had never let up on his attacks for as long as he was doing now.

Channelling chakra to his nose to increase his sense of smell, Naruto finally caught a trace that might give him a clue to Minato's position.

The scent was emanating from the ground.

Naruto twitched a finger in agitation, but didn't otherwise move. Any movement he made would send vibrations into the ground, thus alerting the future Hokage about Naruto's position. It was a weakness of the techniques dealing with subterfuge from underground. It was great for sneaking unannounced up on an enemy, but it couldn't really help you at all if you weren't sure about your enemy's position. The ground didn't exactly allow for great sight or smell.

What really disturbed Naruto was not the thought of Minato hidden underground, but the fact that it was his blood he smelled.

More specifically, chakra enchanted blood.

_Shit. He's grafting a seal. That's got to be it. _Naruto paused that train of thought. _How the hell does he graft a seal while he's underground?_

_Ah, it doesn't matter. It's better to have him above ground and attacking, than under ground sneaking around planning who knows what. So _move_ Uzumaki!_

Naruto acted a nano-second too late.

He was locked to the ground as angry red lines that turned into black began to spread in a circle from the point of his location.

As the sealing characters spread further and further, Naruto couldn't help but feel nervous. The array for the seal was huge, but not really complex.

Using what time he had before Minato appeared again above ground, Naruto began to study the seal intently.

What was its purpose and how did he break it without blowing himself up?

In his agitation, he began to mutter to himself. "Character of release… where's the god-damned character of release? Oh, right, there! Well, that's certainly far away." He grouched as he spied the mentioned character at the far side of the seal. It was way out of his reach. "Never mind… What's the purpose? There are the Characters governing some kind of time limit… Hmm… Those over there to the right are for governing the stability of the seal, I better not touch those…"

As he continued to mutter, the ground just beyond the seal began to buckle as Minato slowly began to emerge from the ground. Naruto barely noticed, far too occupied with finding the purpose of the seal. He did register that Minato couldn't have used a conventional jutsu to hide underground with. If he had, he would've emerged quite a lot faster. The slow pace would defeat the purpose of surprising you enemy if it was used to attack from under ground.

"Okay then," Naruto concluded his examination of the seal, "It's some kind of seal to temporarily lock your opponent to the ground, but what happens afterwards? The seal has another purpose when the time limit for the lockdown has run its course. Hmm… The secondary effect has to do with time as well," he said to himself.

Evidently, he didn't talk low enough because Minato heard him and deigned to answer him.

"Brilliantly deducted; I knew you wouldn't disappoint me," he praised Naruto before he started to explain more about the seal, "The time limit that keeps you grounded and unable to lift your feet lasts for five minutes and is designed to give the user both time to emerge from the ground as well as time for eventual allies to surround you when you're immobilised. It can work on more than one person at the time and as long as the target is within the perimeter of the seals edge, he will get caught in it. The only downside is that nothing may enter the seal as long as the time limit is in effect."

Naruto frowned, but continued to study the characters keeping him to the ground. "And when the time limit is up?" he prompted.

Minato's smile widened. "Then the seal will make the movements of those originally caught in the seal exceptionally slower as well as allowing the user and his allies to enter the seals perimeter unaffected so that they may finish the enemy off."

Naruto nodded absentmindedly as he calculated how long he had before the time limit was up. If he could do something to the seal before the time limit was spent, he might just be able to escape.

_Two minutes left. Well then, no gain without any risks,_ he silently assured himself as he brought his thumb up to his mouth.

If there was something Naruto knew, it was theory on seals dealing with time. At least he had above average knowledge. What he was about to attempt _should_ work.

"What are you doing?"

If Naruto didn't know better, he would think that Minato sounded worried.

Ignoring the blonde jounin, Naruto focused solely on his task as he began to place secondary seals on the ground surrounding his feet. If he could time his actions just right, he would be able tie his own seal into Minato's structure in the moment the time limit had run its course.

In the brief seconds after finishing his own rudimentary seal, Naruto began to focus more and more chakra into his blood-stream. Then he carefully bit his healed thumb again as he calculated the precise moment needed to connect his own seal to Minato's.

_Now!_ He thought as he quickly swiped his bloodied thumb from the anchor point in his own seal and across to a character in Minato's seal that governed the circle of characters that surrounded his feet and kept him anchored to the ground.

There was a spectacular bright flash as Minato's seal was infused with Naruto's own chakra. The glow in the seal's characters began to dim as the seal accepted and integrated the new information and instructions that Naruto had added.

Letting out a breath of relief because his idea had worked and he wouldn't get blown up _this_ day by malfunctioning seal, Naruto finally brought his gaze up to meet Minato's worried, but still intrigued, eyes.

Naruto smirked, daring the blonde jounin to cross the perimeter of the new seal.

Minato was rightfully cautious as he warily regarded Naruto in his crouched position.

"What did you do?" He finally asked. He didn't have a clear view to properly study the new seal Naruto had added and therefore he couldn't even guess at the alterations Naruto had made.

Naruto's smirk widened. "You'll have to figure that out by yourself," he answered cryptically.

Minato frowned even as he moved his fingers into a cross-shaped seal that Naruto knew better than anything else in the world.

_Shadow Clones_, he thought to himself. Then he snorted. It wouldn't matter. With what he'd done to the seal, Minato would be hard pressed to lay a finger on him, let alone draw his blood.

Their area of the clearing was suddenly filled with dense smoke as Minato's fifty clones crowded around Naruto at the edge of the seal.

It was an intimidating sight, but Naruto refused to feel nervous.

That quickly changed when each clone brought out two three-pronged kunai each.

_Well damn,_ Naruto admitted to himself that he might have underestimated Minato's deviousness just a tiny bit.

He pulled out two kunai from his pouch as he straightened himself to a ready-stance.

Minato noted that Naruto didn't seem to be affected by the slowing of movements that the seal should be enforcing on the cocky chuunin right about now. In fact, he could swear that he'd actually seemed to be faster in his movements now than before he placed the seal.

He decided that the safest course of action would be to stand back and see how his clones fared against the wily, blonde chuunin.

Naruto could practically see the decision his adversary had just made as he suddenly noticed an urgent tingling in his spine again. _Behind._ Faster than the eye could see, Naruto twirled, his kunai clashing down on the three-pronged kunai of the attacking shadow clone. To Naruto's eyes, the clone was moving exceptionally slow, even a toddler would be able to predict the clone's movements. Naruto smirked to himself, pleased with the results of his seal. A second move and a flick with the kunai and the clone disappeared in a cloud of dispelled smoke before it even registered the attack.

Naruto slid back into the ready-stance he'd been in before the clone had attacked.

The watching crowd _gaped._

To the audience, Naruto hadn't even moved. It had simply looked like the clone had exploded on its own without even coming close to the blonde's position in the middle of the seal array.

Three puffs of smoke later, another three clones dispelled without any visible movement from the blonde chuunin, and the audience was at a loss in figuring out what was happening.

Naruto's smirked widened.

He _loved_ to show people up even if he'd done his best to keep a low profile since arriving in the past.

A small chuckle broke the tense silence in the clearing, prodding everyone to turn their attention back to the jounin standing at the outer edge of the seal.

"Clever," the future Yondaime complimented as he began to circle the seal slowly. The clones backed up a couple of feet to give their creator more space to move about in. "You changed the objective of the seal. In stead of slowing you down, it's speeding you up. Ingenious."

Naruto smiled wryly, still not prepared to let his guard down. "Thanks."

Minato nodded politely, a small grin playing over his features. "I wonder…"

Naruto kept his silence, waiting for Minato to finish speaking.

"…Does the new objective of the seal limit you to the small circle you drew that's surrounding your feet?"

Before he'd even finished the sentence, a new clone was rushing into the circle, this time without the use of Minato's teleportation technique.

Naruto tensed; dismayed that Minato had figured him out so soon. Still, he should be able to hold his own if only he managed to keep his concentration when the attackers entered the limited space he had to move in.

When the clone finally got close enough for the newly grafted seal to take effect, Naruto finally moved again. The clone went _poof_! And then Naruto was finally swarmed by the remaining clones.

It was the strangest experience.

As had happened before, Naruto was witness to how the clones practically seemed to stop in mid-leap as they crossed the new array that he'd drawn up. Then they came, seemingly _floating_ towards him. And in the centre of them, Naruto moved at a speed beyond what the eye could see as he cut them down like puppets frozen in the moment of a time _he_ alone controlled.

It was an intoxicating feeling.

Until it all came crashing down.

Literally.

"Fuck!" Naruto didn't know what had happened, but he had a pretty good idea as he was suddenly swarmed by clones moving at a regular speed.

Minato must have activated the character that controlled the release of the main seal. This resulted in the immediate dispelling of the seal that Minato had grafted, _including_ the seal Naruto had grafted and tied to Minato's.

Effectively, Naruto was back at square one again. He could only move at his regular speed and as a result he was pummelled by all the incoming clones.

When he was effectively forced down to the ground and unable to move (because of the five clones _sitting_ on his back), Naruto had the dubious honour to be approached by an openly laughing, blonde, future Hokage.

…A future Hokage holding one of _Naruto's_ kunai no less.

Naruto scowled, eying the kunai with dread.

"You're smart, but not smart enough," Minato teased lightly as he bent down to trace a shallow cut on Naruto's cheek (the one that hadn't been cut earlier). "Last chance," he said as he backed away again, dispelling the clones as he disappeared from view.

"Second blood to Minato," the Sandaime called when he finally got out of his own stupor of what had happened.

Naruto scowled as he straightened from the ground, cracking his back as he fingered the last couple of kunai he possessed.

So that was how Konoha's Yellow Flash wished to play? He wanted to drag the spar out as long as possible instead of landing the final blow when he had the chance…

Naruto couldn't help but find it a bit insulting. It was as if Minato wasn't the least bit worried that Naruto could even lay a finger on him; it kind of reminded Naruto of Sasuke's attitude in the Valley of the End.

_Well… we'll see about that._ He swore to himself. He'd managed to scratch up Sasuke's forehead protector with just one finger; he'd damn well manage to put a scratch on Konoha's future Hokage. Even if it was just _one_, it was the point that he'd managed at all that mattered.

_C'mon_, _Uzumaki! You can do this. You _will_ do this!_ He promised himself. He never backed down from a challenge. He wouldn't be who he was if he did. He wouldn't be worthy of becoming a Hokage of Konoha if he did.

He cracked his back one last time as he scanned his surroundings. Minato was gone from view again, but a quick search with his enchanted sense of smell revealed that the wily jounin wasn't hiding under ground _this_ time.

The cheeky bastard was actually chatting up Kushina at the edge of the clearing where the audience were standing.

Naruto's ire skyrocketed.

_That's it. He's going down._

When no immediate idea came to him of how he was going to accomplish his goal, Naruto could quietly admit to himself that he could kill for the ability to create shadow clones right about now.

_Kami,_ _I miss being able to create those buggers with barely a thought._

In his own time, Naruto had been widely recognized as a leading expert and Master of the Shadow Clone Technique. _No one_ had been able to best him when it came to a contest – or battle – involving the sealed technique.

Now though, just because his chakra coils weren't cooperating, he'd never be able to make his beloved clones unless his coils were fixed.

…_Or could I?_ It was a thought to ponder on later, he finally decided as he fingered a kunai absentmindedly. At this moment in time, when he was busy with a spar, the crazy idea he'd gotten wasn't really relevant at all. It needed some careful thought and preparations. Not to mention some research.

Inwardly, Naruto groaned. He was beginning to _loath_ the word 'research'.

Finely honed instincts warned him of the incoming projectiles at the same moment as the now familiar tingle raced along his spine.

Naruto ducked.

Minato and his attack went flying over his head. The rest of Minato's thrown kunai impacted the ground in a perfect circle surrounding the two fighters.

"Daydreaming?" The blonde jounin teased as he passed.

Naruto could literally _feel_ an eyebrow twitch in irritation. "You're the one chatting up your girlfriend in the middle of a spar," he groused, barely managing to keep from screaming out his irritation.

Minato chuckled, "I thought you could need a break."

Naruto didn't answer this time, far too aware of the feeling of another of Minato's special seals activating behind him.

He ducked again, this time angling his movements _towards_ the kunai bearing the seal that had been activated.

Minato flew over his head again.

Naruto calculated.

The blonde jounin had thrown ten special-kunai when he'd attacked. _Two_ of those had now been activated, and if Naruto understood the technique right, then the same seal couldn't be activated _twice_ unless Minato recharged it with the needed chakra.

Another small tingling warning and Naruto jumped. Barely scaling Minato's outstretched hand.

Another. And another. And another.

Naruto panted as he was finally allowed a reprieve from the constant attacks. It was exhausting to keep dodging at the speeds the two were moving and Naruto had been working himself ragged long before this spar even started.

He still had great stamina, but even _he _managed to exhaust himself once in a while. He passed out plenty as a child because he'd worked passed his stamina. The only difference between him and other shinobi (who didn't have tailed beasts sealed up inside them) was that his stamina replenished itself at an astonishing rate if he only took a break to let it. Naruto had had a pet theory that part of Kyubi's chakra had been reconfigured (by the Yondaime's seal) into stamina to fill up his reserves when they got too depleted.

"Do you want to give up?" Minato's voice seemed to reach Naruto from a great distance and he blinked dazedly to focus his vision.

"Not way!" He finally exclaimed when he managed to catch his breath again. Naruto forced a grin. "I'm having too much fun."

Minato grinned back. "I hoped you would say that. I'm having fun too," he admitted as a charged anew.

If Naruto had had breath to spare, he would've groaned. Instead, he dodged again. It was easier this time, seeing as Minato hadn't used any of the seals he had left yet.

They circled each other now; back to using pure taijutsu again.

Naruto attempted to escape the circle of kunai that Minato had planted, but he was forced back at every turn. It seemed the blonde jounin was determined to keep Naruto trapped inside the circle until Naruto became too tired to dodge the use of the last four kunai used for the teleportation technique.

With a sinking feeling and growing resignation, Naruto finally realised that he would have to do something completely stupid and unexpected if he was to keep the promise he'd made to himself.

Sakura would no doubt bash his head in with her fists if she ever got word of what Naruto was about to attempt.

Naruto smiled fondly at the thought even as he sensed the activation of the last seals.

He gripped his last kunai tightly as he desperately dodged the three first attacks. At the fourth and final attack though, he moved deliberately _towards_ the attack with no intention of dodging.

A piercing pain flared in his chest.

Naruto grinned victoriously as his eyes met the startled blue ones of his opponent.

In the background, Naruto could hear the Sandaime calling Minato as the winner, followed quickly by a call for a team of paramedics.

The silence that had ruled the clearing during the spar was now suddenly broken by the loud roar of surprised, horrified and worried shinobi.

The sound of three pairs of worried feet approaching could barely be heard over the cacophony of noise.

All of this Naruto ignored as he continued to meet Minato's startled – quickly becoming horrified – eyes.

"Why didn't you dodge?" Minato finally asked, his eyes furrowing in sudden anger.

Naruto coughed up a dribble of blood even as he continued to smile. He'd _done_ it, damn it! He'd kept his promise.

A thin prick of blood was blooming in the middle of Minato's forehead where Naruto's kunai had ghosted across Minato's skin.

"Are you nuts?" He wheezed out between breaths. "There's no way I'd let you beat me unless I'd gotten at least _one_ hit in on you."

When Naruto suddenly staggered, Minato was quick to release the hold he had on the three-pronged kunai buried in Naruto's chest lest he aggravated the injury. Then, Naruto was caught carefully by two pairs of concerned hands as he was lowered slowly to the ground.

Naruto glanced behind him in surprise, catching a glimpse of black, brown and red hair.

Obito, Rin and Kushina.

Obito and Rin released their hold on him as soon as they were certain that he was safely laid out on the ground.

Kushina bounced in the background. Obviously conflicted in her emotions. She seemed to be both ecstatic and worried.

Looking at her, Naruto couldn't keep from chuckling even as fresh pain tore through his lungs like liquid flames.

At the chuckling sound, Kushina couldn't seem to hold herself any longer.

"_That_ was _awesome_!" She exploded as she bounced over to Naruto's left side. Minato had settled himself on the opposite side of Naruto's wounded torso and seemed to alternate between scowling angrily at his surroundings and at Naruto and Kushina. "I've _never_ seen a chuunin landing a hit on Minato ever since he invented that stupid Thunder-What'cha-ma-callit-Technique of his. Brilliantly executed." She praised.

"Thanks," Naruto smiled brilliantly back at her even as another painful cough wracked his body.

"No way!" Obito exclaimed. "He landed a hit on sensei?" He asked loudly, completely unable to believe it.

Minato blinked, bewildered. A brief second later he brought a hand up to touch his forehead, searching for any wound. He was baffled when his fingers came away coated in a thin smear of nearly non-existent blood. "Huh." He said, dumbfounded. "I didn't feel a thing." Then he turned an annoyed frown back on Naruto. "It was still no excuse for doing what you did. What kind of idiot deliberately moves _into_ an attack unless he's intent on committing suicide?"

Naruto coughed tiredly. "The kind of idiot that has an amazing ability to re-generate and heal himself. Now get this fucking kunai _out_ of me!" He whined.

All those present blinked.

"You can't be serious," Rin objected. "That kunai is the only thing keeping you from bleeding out before the medics get here. If we take it out now, you'll drown in your own blood."

Naruto rolled his eyes.

…Then he coughed heavily again. Blood splattering the surrounding audience.

"Eww!" Obito complained as he pulled his goggles off to clean them, "Disgusting."

"Just…" Naruto stopped to wheeze in more air. "Just get the damn thing out. I promise I won't die and I don't ever break a promise," he finally managed to get out.

"The medic team is on the way," a new voice broke into the argument before it could really take off.

Naruto glanced over at the Sandaime, noticing at the same time that Kakashi was standing off the side, scowling at his general surroundings.

The rest of the crowd seemed to be contained and held back by various jounin and members of the Uchiha-clan. It was obvious that the Hokage hadn't wished for them to get in the way by crowding Naruto.

Naruto closed his eyes tiredly. "Oh, fuck no," he muttered to himself, momentarily ignoring the listening ears surrounding him, "I hate hospitals."

Sarutobi's mouth twitched briefly in quickly contained amusement as he regarded Naruto with curious eyes.

"Your ability to heal is really as good as you claim?" he finally asked.

Naruto coughed and nodded.

"Very well then."

With that said; the Sandaime reached over – ignoring the other's vehement protests – to grasp the offending kunai tightly. Then, with a mighty, but decisive tug, he pulled the kunai out.

Naruto would've cursed (or screamed) at the pain, but for some inexplicable reason, he was completely out of the needed air.

Then the pain made itself known again as nerves decided that they hadn't really done their job before and now they had a lot to make up for. Naruto arched up off the ground, not even noticing the many hands struggling to keep him down as the massive amount of chakra locked up inside him began to work in overdrive.

To anyone in possession of advanced blood-lines affecting the eyes, Naruto practically _glowed_ with power.

…And in front of the eyes of a startled six-man audience, Naruto's wound began to close rapidly. Tissue appearing from seemingly nowhere knitted the gaping wound together again until a thin pink scar was the only evidence of the serious wound that had been there moments before.

The collected assembly _blinked_ as Naruto relaxed completely to end up resting peacefully on the ground again He was asleep within seconds as his body finally registered the desperate need for rest.

"So, who's in need of a team of medics?" A young, feminine voice broke the stunned silence.

Sarutobi turned to greet the new arrivals.

"Ah… Tsunade-hime. I have the most extraordinaire news for you, but first we need to get my researcher to the hospital. He's been through a strenuous ordeal and I greatly fear he's in need of some bed-rest."

Tsunade raised an unimpressed eyebrow in enquiry even as she motioned for her underlings to pick Naruto up.

"And you _absolutely_ needed the best medics to be found in order to carry an exhausted shinobi back to the hospital?" she asked in disbelief and with no little amount of irritation, "I swear Hokage-sama, if you are pulling my chain, I'll…"

The Sandaime raised a hand to stop her rant. "Calm yourself Tsunade-hime. All will be explained."

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**Q&A:  
Q: Isn't Kakashi supposed to be years younger than Obito and Rin?  
**A: No. In this story Kakashi is the same age as his two team-mates. The only difference is that he graduated to become a genin when he was five. At ten, he's now a chuunin while Obito and Rin (both ten at the moment) are newly graduated genin. They're rookies. Kakashi ended up in their team because Kakashi's old team-mates got promoted (or they quit). Not only that, but Kakashi recently lost his father to suicide so the Sandaime figured he'd need to spend more time with children his own age. (Or something.)  
**Q: Who is the Hunter/ANBU Commander?  
**A: Not telling yet. You'll have to wait until Naruto can worm his way into the top-secret archive containing the identities of the Council Members.  
**Q: Does Naruto know that Minato and Kushina are his parents?  
**A: No, and it'll be a while yet before he finds out. Moahahahaha! Am I evil or what?  
**Q: Does Naruto know Kushina's last name?  
**A: No. See above answer.

And finally, give huge applause to my wonderful new beta: _Tsurai no Shi_. Without her amazing (and freakishly fast) betaing abilities, I'd still be wading through sludge in an attempt to weed out invisible errors.

'Till next time then, folks.  
Eleature.


	6. Bloodlimits

Chapter 5.

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**Konoha Sector A; Military Hospital; Room 201; 12:00 GMT.**

Tsunade regarded the unconscious, blonde chuunin laying out cold in one of the hospital's crisp, white-sheeted beds.

The Hokage stood next to her, and behind her, leaning casually against the wall, was the much lauded genius jounin of Konoha; Namikaze Minato. Kushina and the members of Minato's team were all waiting in the hall.

"So," she started, "will any of you deign to tell me why you saw the need to summon me, and why you believe this Rei person to be worthy of my attention?" She was busy enough at the hospital without having to bother with every person sporting a scrape or complaining about a headache that walked through the door. A chuunin suffering chakra exhaustion and needing bed-rest was hardly enough to demand her interest and talent.

The Sandaime's hand twitched towards his pocket in search for his faithful pipe before he remembered that he was in a hospital with a strict no-smoking policy.

"Originally we called you because Mumei-san sported a severe injury as the result of a spar with Minato," the Hokage admitted with a sigh, mournfully thinking about his untouched pipe.

Tsunade frowned, expertly running her eyes over her blonde patient. She noticed the blood staining the blonde's front and the hole in his shirt, but she saw no present wound on the chuunin.

"What injury, and what caused it?" she asked when she finally came up blank. It would be best to start at the beginning. Obviously _something_ was going on that the Hokage deemed worthy of her attention.

Her old sensei coughed uncomfortably as he spared a nervous glance on his volatile, female student. "A three-pronged kunai piercing his left lung," he said in answer to both her questions.

Tsunade's eyes widened and she turned fully to meet her sensei's eyes.

"Truly?" she asked.

When he nodded seriously, she turned to regard the blonde jounin behind her. "He's not jerking my chain?" she asked him, desperately searching for an explanation to what she was seeing.

Minato shook his head. "He's telling the truth. Rei-san took a direct hit to one of his lungs just to prove a point."

Tsunade shook her head in disbelief as she turned to examine her patient again.

"But that's impossible," she said as she opened Naruto's shirt to examine his chest. "There's no mark to be found on him."

"That's because Rei's got the coolest healing ability I've ever seen." Kushina's voice butted into the conversation. She'd been waiting patiently outside… okay then, in the slightly opened door-way, but she finally couldn't stand how the Hokage was avoiding the true issue at hand.

Tsunade's eyes widened. "That's still hardly possible to believe. The pressure such a fast healing ability would put on his body would be enormous. He'd be aging at such an accelerated rate that we'd literally be able to track it by monthly observations.

"And you cannot sense any accelerated healing when you examine him?" The Sandaime was frowning.

"No," Tsunade answered, keeping her eyes trained on her mysterious patient.

"Test his blood then," the Hokage finally decided. "Inform me of what you find, but do not reveal the information to anyone else. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to work."

The Sandaime took his leave, nodding to Tsunade, Minato and Kushina as he left.

Tsunade regarded the door as it closed behind her sensei. After a second she finally snapped herself out of any thoughts she was trapped in to focus her attention on her patient.

"Do any of you know anything else about this supposed healing ability?" Tsunade asked of the two people left in the room.

Minato shifted his position slightly as he frowned in though. "You know, now that you mention it, I do remember Rei saying something about it being an ability he'd had since he was a baby."

Tsunade nodded doubtfully. "Maybe a Blood-limit then…" she murmured to herself.

Kushina and Minato exchanged glances.

"Look, do you need us to be here? Only, I've got this date coming up and I-"

Kushina was cut off by the indignant sound of her fiancé. "What do you mean you've got a date? I don't know anything about a date. Are you cheating on me? I swear I'll kick-"

"Take you're lover's quarrel somewhere else," Tsunade commanded tersely as she prepped a needle, "At the moment you'll only be in the way and Mumei-san is not in any danger. He's just sleeping."

The two lovers' broke their fight off as suddenly as they'd started as they both turned to regard the sleeping chuunin.

"You'll let us know when he wakes up?" Kushina asked anxiously.

Tsunade scoffed, "What am I, a mail service?" Turning to catch a glimpse of the two's worried expressions; she softened her own before she turned back to her patient again. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Just get out of here," she commanded.

"As you say, Hime." Kushina saluted Tsunade's back joyously as she grabbed a hold of Minato's arm before dragging him out the door.

"Now, about that date…" could be heard from the fiery redhead before the door closed behind them.

Tsunade snorted in exasperation.

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**Konoha Sector A; Military hospital; Hallway; 15:00 GMT.**

Tsunade hurried through the hospital corridor towards her patient's room, the results of a blood test clutched in her right hand.

The test had taken longer than she'd thought. Some buffoon had pressed his team too hard on a training trip in the Forest of Death, resulting in all of them falling unconscious and needing immediate blood tests to check for possible toxins in their bloodstream. The Forest of Death was as much of a death trap as the name suggested and the most regular cause of injury or death in the forest was various toxins secreted or injected by the numerous bugs thriving in the damp foliage.

Tsunade would've liked to have _words_ with the idiot leader of the afflicted team, but he was currently unconscious too, so she'd better wait 'till he could properly enjoy her righteous anger. Not only that, but Tsunade currently had her own patient to worry about and while the blonde chuunin wasn't in any danger, he was far more interesting and intriguing than some idiots sporting signs of being poisoned.

Impossibly fast ability to heal though, now _that_ was interesting, and far more deserving of Tsunade's considerable talent. She was practically itching to figure out what made her patient tick.

The blood test she was carrying had only given her half of the answers.

As she neared room 201, Tsunade was forced to reduce her speed or risk passing the intended door. When she opened the door and entered her patient's room she was more than surprised to see that her patient had woken up. It didn't deter her from her mission though. Oh, no. It actually worked better for her. Now she could actually attempt to get some useful answers from the source of her curiosity instead of her having to rely on guesswork and conjecture.

"Good. You're awake," she greeted the patient.

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Naruto blinked at the abrupt manner of Tsunade's greeting. He'd known the famous medic for several years now and thus wasn't too surprised at her method of introduction. He'd always known the slug summoner to be direct. She also had no tolerance for nonsense.

It made him inexplicably happy to see her again even if she'd never technically met him before. She had been a loyal and trustworthy Hokage when Naruto finally managed to convince her into accepting the position after the death of the Sandaime. In a way, she'd become something of a surrogate mother or big-sister for him over the years. He'd always trusted her to have his best interest at heart and he could count the people he afforded that amount of trust to on one hand. He realised then that he was saddened too by this meeting, since it symbolized the end of their old relationship and the beginning of a completely new one where they might as well have been strangers to each other. Then he steeled his resolve and he promised to himself and the memory of the future Godaime that he would do his best to achieve a new friendship with the headstrong medic.

"Uh… Okay," he answered, bewildered as he did his best to mask his inner turmoil. Then it struck him that he had no idea what was going on. As far as he knew, he'd been resting to regain energy from healing himself. He hadn't needed to go to the hospital and he certainly didn't need a certified medic.

Tsunade completely ignored Naruto's softly spoken words.

"My name is Tsunade. You are my patient, Mumei Rei, just in case you're suffering from memory loss. It's not too uncommon for people suffering chakra depletion. Don't worry, if you've forgotten something it'll come back to you as your chakra stores are filled up again. I'm your assigned medic for the duration of your stay. If you have any questions you can ask me now or call one of the assistants or one of the interns later on. Any relevant medical history is to be given directly to me. Now, we've taken a blood test and-"

"What do you mean you've taken a blood test?" Naruto asked in surprise, interrupting the future Godaime before she could finish speaking.

Tsunade huffed as she glared balefully at the blonde, practically daring him to interrupt her again. Seeing the cowed expression he suddenly sported, Tsunade nodded once and then continued her explanation.

"As I was saying; we've taken a blood test to determine the origin of your ability to heal. You were brought to the hospital because the Hokage first summoned us claiming a chuunin to be seriously injured. When we arrived at the scene of the spar you were knocked out cold because of chakra depletion and exhaustion. We could not however, see any signs of and external or internal wounds on your body." Tsunade stopped here to throw Naruto an inspecting overlook. "Now that..." she finally declared, "caught my interest."

Naruto groaned internally. Knowing how obsessed Tsunade got when it concerned medical knowledge, he'd never get out of the hospital.

Expertly ignoring Naruto's badly hidden expression of distaste, Tsunade forged on.

"The blood test was to determine if you have a previously unknown blood-limit. You tested positive and now I'm here to figure out exactly how your blood-limit functions and how it was obtained."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "I have a blood-limit?"

Tsunade nodded as she wrote something down on the form she held in her hands.

"Yes. I'll assume by your reaction that you didn't know?"

Naruto shook his head.

Tsunade nodded as she'd expected the answer. "Very well, did anyone else in your family have a blood-limit, or exhibit an abnormally fast healing-rate?" She asked in her usual straight forwards manner.

Naruto frowned. "I wouldn't know. I'm an orphan from a hostile attack. I've never even known my parents' names, let alone if they were ninja at all."

Tsunade glanced up briefly from her form to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Naruto shook his head as he grinned brightly. "Don't be, I can't miss what I've never known, right? And anyway, I'd like to think I've done my parents proud. That's why I've always aspired to be the best that I can be and do my best all the time. I promised both myself and them that I'd do my best, and I don't break my promises."

Tsunade smiled briefly in the face of such a bright spirit as she wrote something else on her form. "Good for you then." She finally said. "But that doesn't help at all in figuring out how you've obtained a blood-limit."

Naruto scratched his head in confusion. "I thought you were born with a blood-limit, not that it was obtained. How does that work?" He asked.

Tsunade frowned. "You don't know how the blood-limits originally came to be? They didn't exactly pop out of thin air you know."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "I guess I never thought about it. It's not like I ever expected to have one myself."

Tsunade's eyebrow rose in an incredulous expression. "And the increased healing ability you sport didn't tip you off at all?" She asked completely unimpressed.

Naruto ducked his head in embarrassment. He was treading dangerous grounds here. He'd always attributed the healing ability to the Kyubi and it wouldn't do to bring the fox into the conversation. And how would he go about doing that anyway? There was no chance in hell that he tried to explain that he came from a future where he'd been the vessel of the Kyubi.

"It wasn't as pronounced in the beginning I guess," he settled for saying as Tsunade's suspicious stare became more and more piercing, "As a child I didn't really notice at all until I started training under a jounin from Konoha. I managed to cut myself with a poisoned weapon by accident once and my sensei thought I'd die from the poison on the blade, but I cut myself deeper with another blade to bleed the poison out and he noticed that the wound was closing faster than what he considered normal.

"I guess I didn't notice in the beginning because I only ever got scrapes or bruises. It was never anything big so I never thought my healing rate to be anything out of the ordinary. The first time I ever really noticed how extraordinarily fast it was, was when I was… thirteen I think and…"

Naruto trailed off. He didn't really want to talk about _that_ incident and he cursed himself for bringing it up at all. Tsunade wasn't deterred though. To her, the story had just become interesting and she intended to hear the end of it. "And?" She prompted.

Naruto glanced uncertainly at her. "Does it really matter?" He asked. He'd never told anyone the whole story before. Sasuke's desertion had become taboo for both him and their other team-mate Sakura.

Tsunade nodded seriously. "It may be vital to determine how your ability works. We have to figure out how you've attained the ability and how exactly it works because it could potentially have serious consequences for you later on."

Naruto frowned; Tsunade had mentioned something to that effect to him when he was younger too. She'd seemed to think that his accelerated healing would take years off his life, but he hadn't cared too much at the time. The threat of either the Kyubi or the Akatsuki finally getting one over him had been a lot more pressing at the time.

"When I was thirteen I got into a fight," he finally started, "The one I fought was prone to using electrical based techniques and he punched me through the right lung with a fist enveloped in lightning." At the admission, Naruto started to pluck lightly on the bed-linen.

Tsunade sucked in a startled breath at what she'd heard. Naruto didn't notice though, he was too caught up in the painful memories of Sasuke's actions and words that day. "I healed in seconds as soon as he pulled his arm out of my chest," he continued.

When he didn't say anything else Tsunade finally got her wits back as she regarded her patient with a gentle expression. She might've been a tough no-nonsense person, but she was also able to have compassion for her patients. In fact, she was often too compassionate towards them. It was one of the reasons for why she became so incensed when she believed one of them to have acted foolhardy. She was strict with her patients because she wanted them to be more careful.

"And this was the first time you really noticed how fast you healed?" she asked to make sure he remembered correctly.

Naruto tilted his head up as he smiled wryly at her. "It was kind of hard to ignore and forget," he said.

Tsunade nodded as she decided to let the matter rest for the moment.

"Okay then. I guess I'll have to tell you how blood-limits are obtained then, maybe you'll think of an explanation for your ability if you know. After that, we'll do some tests to try to figure out the limits and possible consequences of your ability, if indeed there are any."

Naruto nodded, suddenly inexplicably wary of what the 'tests' she would be doing would involve.

"Right then," Tsunade abruptly started as she pulled a chair over for her to sit in, "What you first need to understand is that all blood-limits are results of tampering with the supernatural. Blood-limits did not just suddenly appear in humans one day out of thin air. They were _gifted _to humans by supernatural beings or means. In this context though, it's not really a gift since there's _always_ a price to be paid for the different abilities.

"As a shinobi versed in the art of sealing, you should be more than able to follow this explanation since all of the sealing art has a basis in the supernatural."

Naruto nodded to show his agreement. Even the most basic of seals dealt in the realms of the supernatural. The supernatural was considered that which cannot be seen or sensed humans in the mortal realm. Chakra for example was not considered supernatural since _all_ living beings had it even in a minuscule quantity. Spirits though, or demons like the different tailed creatures, were considered supernatural. It was the same with summoned creatures. They did not naturally exist in the mortal realm but had either lost their way, been summoned or been cursed to the mortal realm. They did not really belong and if they spent too much time in the mortal realm without a source to draw power from, they'd cease to exist. Seals were used as a bridge between the supernatural – like different realms or dimensions – and were even rumoured to have been gifted to the race of humans by the great Kami.

Ignorant of Naruto's thoughts on the subject, Tsunade continued her explanation. "Let's take some of the blood-limits in Konoha as examples. The Inuzuka clan is a relatively new clan. They're only a couple of generations old. The founder of the clan loved dogs. One day when he was travelling through a forest, he came across a wounded dog. Naturally, being the dog-lover that he was, he takes care of the dog and nurses it back to health. It was first after the dog was healthy that he learned that the dog was a messenger of a great dog-spirit tied to the forest. The messenger talked to the man and said that his Lord would grant him a gift of companionship and eternal loyalty if only the man would continue to help any dogs he came across for the rest of his life.

"The Inuzuka complied and the contract with the spirit was drawn – not with blood – as is done with summoned creatures, but with the spirit of the human-man and the dog-Lord. As a result the clan has dogs as familiars and they can communicate with dogs as if they were human. In addition they have some physical characteristics granted to them by the great dog-spirit. This is all a result of the bond between the great dog-spirit and the Inuzuka. Everyone in the Inuzuka clan now has a bond with the Great Spirit. They share in his power and he shares in theirs, making it possible for the spirit to sustain itself in the mortal realm."

Naruto's eyes widened as a terrible suspicion began to crawl up his spine, but he didn't interrupt Tsunade yet. He decided to hear her explanation out before he began making assumptions. Maybe he was worrying himself over nothing.

"The bond or the contract between humans and spirits manifests itself as a genetic mutation in the human DNA. As such it is hereditary, but sometimes people in a blood-line clan are born with recessive genes resulting with them never manifesting any of the abilities that are derived from the contract. If one of the clan members breaks the contract by refusing to pay the agreed-upon price it would mean instant death for the guilty person, or alternatively, if the spirit is the perpetrator, it would cease to exist.

"The Inuzuka clan didn't exactly decide to get a blood-limit. For them it just sort of happened and they were really lucky with the price they paid for it. For others, the price has been much more severe. I've heard of a clan that existed in the village of stone before. They had to pay for their limit with the life of their second-born children. In the end, the clan leader couldn't do it and the entire clan died within a week from unknown causes, though all know that whatever deity they were tied to had collected its pay.

"Those who seek out deities to get a contract on a blood-limit often spend years doing research. Most want to have a great ability at the same time as they pay a relatively small price. They try to learn about as many deities as possible… what their tempers are like… which powers they have… what they hold dear and so on. For most the risk is simply not worth the gains; which is why there are so few clans with blood-limits. Konoha actually has an abnormally large percentage of clans sporting blood-limits.

"A clan that actively sought out a supernatural being to summon and bind their spirits to was the Hyuga clan. The founder of the clan wished for the power to see beyond that of what the mortal eye could perceive, and so he summoned a spirit with eyes rumoured to see what is going on in all of the existing dimensions and realms and he asked to be bound with the spirit, thus enabling it to sustain itself in the mortal realm whenever or wherever it so whished. The spirit granted the request and it stated its price. To this day, no-one outside the clan knows what the price entails, but we all suspect it to be of the pricy variation."

Tsunade stopped briefly in her explanation as she gave Naruto a lingering look.

"What you have to understand Mumei-san, is that most people – both civilians and shinobi – fear people with blood-limits. You won't notice any fear in Konoha because the village is so used to clans with blood-limits, but outside the village you may well be hunted down if the secret of your ability gets out. Some of the fear is rightly warranted. You have to remember that people with blood-limits enable supernatural being to exist and sustain themselves in the mortal realm. Some of these beings are not always benign. There have been reports of demons being summoned and bound with a blood-limit-contract in the past. Hundreds of people were killed by the demons before people managed to kill the humans tied to the demons' existence."

Naruto's eyes widened even more at hearing that and he struggled to conceal his expression as Tsunade turned her gaze on him.

He swallowed to moisten his throat before speaking.

"Is it possible to tie yourself to a deity or a spirit without even knowing it yourself?" He finally asked.

Tsunade frowned as she thought about it. "I've never hear of it happening before. I'm pretty sure that all the people who started a blood-limit-contract actually remembered their meeting with a supernatural being." She turned suspicious eyes on Naruto as wheels in her head began to turn. "Why? Have you ever met a supernatural being?"

"Uh…" Naruto scrabbled frantically for something to say and by the time he remembered that he could've blamed it all on the parents he never knew, he realized that his hesitation had already given his guilty answer away. "Well…" He hesitated. "Do summoned creatures count?" He finally asked.

Tsunade pursed her lips. "Well, yes. I guess so, but I've never heard of summoned creatures with amazing healing abilities before. Have you dabbled in summoning? What kind of creature can you summon?"

Naruto groaned mentally. He couldn't tell her about the toad-summoning-contract because Jiraiya guarded that contract as if it was his only child – if you disregarded his note-books on _Come Come Paradise_.

"Well… two of the shinobi that taught me were summoners and I used to talk to their summons all the time." Which wasn't exactly true, but wasn't all a lie either.

"Did you ever mention anything about contracts to the summons?" Tsunade asked as she wrote some more on her chart.

Naruto frowned in though, remembering a conversation he had with the Kyubi years ago on the subject of paying rent. "Maybe," he finally answered. "I don't remember all the conversations that well," he reluctantly admitted.

Tsunade 'hmm-ed' as she jotted another note down on paper, finally she looked up to meet Naruto's somewhat worried eyes. "I don't think you should worry too much," she placated him, "Summons' are generally genial and laid-back creatures and I don't suppose you could have a casual conversation with the more angry and unpredictable summons'. Most likely, you've probably unwittingly agreed to a contract with one of your sensei's summons. You'll know the price when the summons comes to collect, but you shouldn't worry too much about it. I don't believe a summons would be too greedy. Summons' get to travel to the mortal real often enough and then they normally only get paid in chakra. I don't think the price of the blood-limit can be too costly for you seeing as you can't even remember agreeing to it."

Naruto nodded as he attempted a smile for her efforts in calming him. There was no way he'd be calm though. What if he'd unwittingly made a contract to Kyubi, making it possible for the demon to sustain itself in the mortal realm as long as Naruto was alive? There was no way he could live with himself if that was true. Now he _really_ needed access to the more restricted parts of the library.

As she finished the last notes to her form, Tsunade set the paperwork away as she gave Naruto a once over.

"Now, let's get started at figuring out how your blood-limit works." She said decisively.

Naruto grimaced as he fidgeted in an attempt to stall. "Ah, what exactly will you be doing?" He asked as he gave her a wary look.

Tsunade brooked no nonsense as she pulled the covers off him. He figured he was lucky to still be dressed in his own blood-stained clothes.

"_We_ are going to test your regeneration ability, your ability to recover from strenuous activities and your ability to recover chakra. After that, I'll start to look for any bad reactions or consequences that may result from your blood-limit."

Naruto eyed the flimsy hospital gown with horror as he scrambled out of bed. "I'm not wearing _that,_" he protested loudly as he pointed at the paper-thin garment.

Tsunade's expression got _scary_.

"Yes. Yes you are."

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**Konoha Sector A; Outside the Military hospital; 09:00 GMT.**

Naruto sighed heartily in relief. He was finally out of the hospital and to be honest he'd never thought the day would come. Tsunade had kept him for three days as she did tests and devised experiments for Naruto to suffer through. True, nothing was actually painful for Naruto – if you disregarded the pain of being put through days of boring tests. Officially, Naruto had been admitted to the hospital for the healing of his wound, observation and then rest. The Hokage had even visited to tell Naruto that he should take some breaks from his research once in a while. Apparently someone had noted how little Naruto had been sleeping and eating.

Naruto suspected that he was under close surveillance from someone the Hokage trusted and he couldn't begrudge the old leader that. He'd probably have done the same thing if _he'd_ been the Hokage.

On the bright side Naruto had gotten along with Tsunade splendidly. Apparently, he reminded her somewhat of her younger brother Nawaki.

After all the time spent in the hospital, Naruto was actually looking forwards to getting back to his research in the library. He'd learned a lot about blood-lines from Tsunade and he was hoping to expound on that knowledge. First though, he was going home to change his clothes and get something to eat.

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**Konoha Sector A; Military hospital; Tsunade's Office; 12:00 GMT.**

Tsunade frowned as she sank down into her chair behind her desk at the hospital. She'd just returned from delivering her report about her newest patient to the Hokage.

He was an enigma, an opinion that was apparently shared by her old sensei too.

She strongly suspected that Naruto had been with-holding facts when they'd talked together during his stay, but she never caught him in an outright lie. Still, his explanations didn't really fit together.

If Rei had come by his blood-line by unwittingly making a contract with a summons, he wouldn't have had his ability from infancy. On the other hand, it could be possible that the young chuunin had inherited the blood-line from the parents he'd never known.

Whatever the reason behind Rei's mysterious ability, Tsunade couldn't help but worry just a bit.

As far as her tests had shown, the chuunin's blood-line seemed too good to be true. He could heal serious and life-threatening wounds within seconds. In addition the young man had an incredible ability to restore both his chakra reserve and his stamina if he only had some food or rest. Naturally the healing ability seemed to slow down if Rei hadn't had enough food or rest prior to an injury, but even if the chuunin appeared to be completely out of chakra, his ability managed to dreg up some stored chakra anyway to get the job done.

On that note, Tsunade had been fascinated beyond belief when she'd examined the enormous amount of chakra locked into the chuunin's body. She shuddered to think about Rei's potential if he ever managed to get full access to his chakra and even pondered on the idea that the huge chakra reserve was linked to his blood-limit.

What she'd found to be most surprising about the blood-line's abilities though was that it didn't seem to be putting any untoward stress on Rei's body. From her experience with healing and cells splitting to make new tissue, Rei _should_ be aging at a rate where he'd most likely be dead within the decade. Contrary to all medical facts though, Rei's ability seemed to draw nearly exclusively from his chakra stores, thus managing to keep the stress on the body to a minimum.

Tsunade wouldn't be surprised at all if Rei was actually aging at a _slower_ rate than what was normal for humans. She smiled in humour at that idea. If it was true, she figured that the chuunin had to have been _really_ short for his age before he reached puberty.

Still, all the gain he got from his blood-limit worried Tsunade immensely. For there to be so much gain and no drawbacks to the ability the price expected by the being he'd tied himself to had to be something of high value indeed.

Tsunade was so caught up in her own thoughts that she nearly missed the arrival of one of her team-mates.

Stacking some papers together and placing them at the right end of her desk, she raised her head to meet piercing eyes. She'd never really liked those eyes…

"Orochimaru," she greeted with a polite nod.

Tsunade and her team-mates had never really gotten along at all in the beginning of their genin days. Tsunade couldn't stand Jiraiya or his lecherous ways. Jiraiya couldn't stand Orochimaru's arrogance or brilliance in training and Orochimaru didn't care at all about anything but his own progress. It had taken quite some time for the dynamics of the team-work to be worked out.

Now, they were all adults and had been team-mates for over a decade. They were rumoured to be the best three-man team ever created. Tsunade acted as the team's medic and its close-combat specialist. Jiraiya was the distant-combat specialist and the one who worked to keep the team's spirit up while Orochimaru was the tactician as well as the guy with a lot of mixed knowledge of different methods of combat (meaning he was the backup when everything else went down the drain).

After many years of working together, Tsunade _still_ couldn't stand Jiraiya's perverted ways, Jiraiya _still_ didn't care much for Orochimaru's aloofness and Orochimaru _still_ focused most of his energies on furthering his own ambitions (whatever t_hey_ were). What had changed was that they could tolerate or ignore each other to the point that they worked flawlessly together and when they weren't on missions together (which didn't happen often anymore) they managed to be civil to each other.

Her old team-mate nodded politely at her. "Tsunade-hime."

Tsunade smiled briefly back at him before she opened her desk-drawer to search for some blank medical forms. Nothing was ever boring for long at the hospital and pretty soon she'd be called to help out with some patient.

"Long time no see," she said, "What brings you here?"

Orochimaru shrugged lightly as he sat himself gracefully in the chair positioned in front of Tsunade's desk.

"Nothing much, sensei has me running all over the country for him, but as you know most of what I do is restricted so…" he raised his hands in a helpless gesture as he smiled kindly, but still somehow distantly and blandly to her.

Tsunade snorted, "Yes, I know. I wasn't asking you to tell me anything secret, I was only wondering what you're doing here."

Her black-headed team-mate attempted to look hurt, "What? It's illegal for me to visit my team-mate now too?"

Now _that _was something she'd never expected to hear coming out of his mouth and Tsunade frowned as her expression hardened slightly. Something was up. "You know that's not what I meant. If you're here for medical reasons, you would've said so already. As it is, all this stalling you're doing is really making me curious."

"Now that you mention curiosity," Orochimaru started, finally deciding to get to the case. "I heard a rumour about a chuunin sparring with Namikaze-san…" he trailed off, leaving it to Tsunade to work out _what _exactly he was after.

She didn't bite.

"What about it?" She asked tersely, not at all interested in his guessing games.

Fighting frustration, Orochimaru managed a careless smile, "I heard that the chuunin managed to recover on his own after being on the receiving end of Namikaze's kunai."

Blowing out an exasperated breath, Tsunade fixed hard eyes on her team-mate, "If you're asking me what I think you are, then you know perfectly well that I won't answer."

Orochimaru didn't quite manage to hide his frustration this time, "Oh, come on Tsunade! I just want to know if it's true, and if it is; how did he do it?"

Tsunade shook her head firmly as she picked up her blank forms and started to rise. She was due to check up on the apprentices running around the hospital right about now.

Orochimaru halted her with a hand to her left shoulder. Tsunade let her eyes trail from his grip on her shoulder and up to his eyes. She grimaced as she met his gaze. "If you really want to know anything, you should ask the Hokage or the chuunin himself. I'm under oaths to keep my mouth shut. Now let me go!" With that, she shrugged him off and brushed passed him out of the room.

Orochimaru watched her leave with a pensive expression on his face. Tsunade's reluctance to talk about the rumoured spar proved _one_ thing at least and it implied another. For one, the rumoured spar wasn't just a rumour and two, the chuunin _had_ been hurt.

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**Konoha Proper; Near Ichiraku's; 18:00 GMT.**

Orochimaru was frustrated.

It hadn't been difficult to find out who the chuunin that had sparred against Namikaze earlier that week was. Apparently, a large number of Konoha shinobi had witnessed the fight and they were all eager to talk about the spar. Nearly all of them agreed that the chuunin in the rumour was the Hokage's new researcher. A few argued that it hadn't been a chuunin, but another jounin and one had even managed to convince himself that Namikaze had sparred with the Hokage. Orochimaru decided to go for what most of them agreed on and now he was looking for the Sandaime's new researcher. He vaguely recalled passing the chuunin when he was on his way to the Tower for a mission one late evening some weeks…months? ago.

He just arrived back from the mission this morning and when he'd arrived, he'd heard the most interesting rumour. Orochimaru didn't normally put much stock in rumours, but for this particular rumour, he was willing to take a leap of faith.

From what he could piece together, some anonymous chuunin had challenged the renowned genius (Orochimaru snorted spitefully) Namikaze to a spar. Naturally, the chuunin had lost spectacularly, but not only that, he'd managed to get mortally wounded in the fight. What was remarkable – according to the rumours flying about – was that the chuunin had _somehow_ managed to heal himself in a matter of seconds.

Now _that_ particular detail caught Orochimaru's interest.

An advanced ability to heal; now who wouldn't want that? …Particularly if you wanted immortality…

He'd visited Tsunade as soon as he'd delivered his report. Surely the Hime would know if the village suddenly sported a shinobi with advanced healing abilities. The woman was obsessed with medical knowledge after all. Unfortunately she was also cursed with moral and having sworn oaths of confidentiality.

Orochimaru snorted again in annoyance. She just couldn't make it simple for him and now he was scouring the village after a chuunin he'd barely glimpsed _one _time earlier in bad illumination. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

…Which was _why_ he was so damned frustrated.

He'd practically looked everywhere for the illusive chuunin. He'd searched the libraries, he'd scoped out the Tower, and he'd visited the Hokage Monument and the Heroes' Stone. He was running out of training areas to check and he still couldn't find the person he was looking for.

He'd finally given up for the day and he was headed to one of the bars he frequented when a flash of yellow hair caught his eyes.

He blinked.

Apparently his sensei's new researcher _really _liked ramen.

Shaking his head, Orochimaru changed his course as he headed from the ramen stand where the blonde chuunin was seated with a mountain of empty bowls next to him.

"One miso ramen," Orochimaru ordered as he sat himself down in the seat next to his target.

If he hadn't been observing the blonde chuunin as much as he was, he would've missed the minute tensing of the blonde's shoulder. As it was, he was studying the chuunin intensely and the small movement he noticed sparked his interest.

When it seemed that the man next to him didn't seem too inclined to speak – in fact, was the chuunin eating _faster_ than he'd done before? – Orochimaru decided to make the first move.

0101010101

_Damnit!_

Naruto couldn't believe his luck. Of all the people and all the places to eat, it was Orochimaru who decided that he wanted Ichiraku's ramen this evening.

Naruto had sensed his presence as soon as the man had entered the small establishment and he couldn't quite suppress the nervous twitch that ran through his body when the damnable man sat down next to him.

Mentally, Naruto frowned, at the moment he and the newly arrived jounin were the only customers at the ramen stand so there were plenty of places to sit. Why had Orochimaru decided to sit next to _him_?

It didn't take much for Naruto to suspect that something was going on and it put his nerves on edge.

In hopes of getting out of the establishment quickly, Naruto increased his pace in cleaning out his last ramen bowl out. Maybe he could escape before Orochimaru had time to reveal why he was there.

It seemed that he had no such luck, but then Naruto suspected strongly that it had nothing to do with his luck anymore and everything to do with the will of the black-haired jounin.

"It's a nice evening…" Orochimaru started as he accepted the ramen-bowl handed to him over the counter.

Naruto swallowed what he had in his mouth as he regarded the older man suspiciously from the corner of his eyes. "Mmm…" he answered non-committingly after a few seconds.

Orochimaru seemed to take it as encouragement to continue talking.

"I've just come back to the village from a mission and it seems that there has been some ruckus created while I was gone…"

Naruto turned beck to concentrate on his food, he was not at all sure that he liked where the conversation was going. "Is that so?"

Orochimaru nodded once as he broke apart his chopsticks. "I'm sorry," he then said, "It seems that I've forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Orochimaru, jounin."

Naruto fought hard to keep from rolling his eyes. It was obvious now that Orochimaru was fishing for some information, and from the way the conversation was going Naruto would bet his chakra reserve that he wanted to know something that pertained to the spar he'd had with Minato.

Still, it was freaky beyond words to calmly sit next to a future traitor and a sociopath while said person was trying to act polite and maybe even _nice_.

Naruto fought a shudder at the thought even as he fought the urge to attack the personified monster next to him.

"Mumei Rei, chuunin," he introduced himself, keeping himself short and consistent to signal that he really wasn't interested in a conversation.

Orochimaru acted surprised as he turned to give Naruto a searching look. "Really? _You_'re Mumei Rei? I've heard a lot about you. Aren't you Hokage-sama's new researcher?"

Naruto nodded curtly as he fiddled with his chopsticks. _As if he didn't already know…_

"What a coincidence," Orochimaru continued, apparently not noticing Naruto's dismissive behaviour, "If what the rumours say is true, then you played a central part in the ruckus I mentioned earlier."

_Coincidence my ass._ Naruto thought to himself. And now he was nearly sure of where this conversation was headed. It didn't really surprise him at all that he'd managed to attract Orochimaru's attention, though he'd hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't happen. Of all the people that Naruto wanted to remain invisible to, Orochimaru was at the top of the list. He inwardly cursed himself at having ever agreed to the spar with Minato. He should've known better. He _did_ know better, but it seemed that his impulsiveness was harder to overcome than he'd previously thought.

"You shouldn't put to much stock in rumours." Naruto finally said as an answer to Orochimaru's rather obvious meddling.

"And normally I wouldn't, but I have to admit that my curiosity was piqued at what I heard. I hoped you don't mind obliging a jounin in his curiosity."

Naruto was really tempted to say that curiosity killed the cat, but he knew he was way out of his league when it came to Orochimaru so he kept his peace. Maybe he could humour the jounin and get him to leave him alone. If he was really clever he could perhaps even manage to dissuade Orochimaru from whatever goal he'd set himself this time.

Sighing in barely concealed consternation, Naruto turned to face his worst enemy. "Fine, what do you want to know?"

Orochimaru smirked, or maybe he sneered. Naruto wasn't sure and frankly he didn't really want to know. His only desire at the moment was to get the snake summoner out of his hair.

"I heard you had an extraordinaire ability to heal and I wished to confirm this rumour. I have a vested interest in medical knowledge, in that I'm much like one of my team-mates. I believe you've met her. Her name is Tsunade."

Naruto mentally raised an eyebrow, not at all impressed by the obvious lies and the obvious attempt to manipulate him into trusting the man. He knew Orochimaru's ways far too well to fall for any of his more obvious tricks. Still, he'd resigned himself to tell the man _something_ in order form him to leave him alone.

Naruto shrugged non-concerned as he met Orochimaru's piercing eyes with an effort.

"Apparently I have a blood-limit which gives me abnormally fast healing," he finally revealed.

Orochimaru's gaze hardened and focused on him as if he was a hawk after its prey.

"How fascinating. How did you acquire such an ability I wonder? It would be most beneficial for Konoha's shinobi if they all could share in your fortune."

Now that was too bold, even for Orochimaru. He should know very well that information pertaining to blood-limits – especially rare and valuable blood-limits – was guarded to the death.

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he regarded the snake in front of him coolly.

"As much as that may be true, I don't think the shinobi of the village would be willing to pay the price for an ability such as mine," he said calmly, coolly.

Orochimaru either didn't see, or he disregarded the warning Naruto was subtly giving him to back off. He probably wasn't concerned at all with angering a chuunin. Compared to him, chuunin were lowly insects with barely any talent at all. Normally they weren't worthy of his attention and the only reason he'd gone to search for Naruto was because he wanted Naruto knowledge and ability.

"And why might that be?" Orochimaru asked as a response to Naruto's statement.

Naruto mentally shrugged._ When the truth doesn't cut it; lie._

"I had to give up my ability to channel chakra in return for the ability to heal at an accelerated pace. I doubt other shinobi would be willing to pay that price. I only did it because I never had much ability with jutsu anyway. To me, it was a win-win situation."

Orochimaru looked most displeased by this information, and Naruto mentally cheered. Hopefully he'd gotten Orochimaru to loose interest. He knew enough about the man to know that he treasured nothing above the ability to perform jutsu.

"Hmm… you may be right in your assessment," Orochimaru grudgingly agreed as he stood up to leave. "'Till we meet again then, Mumei-kun," he dismissed himself as he briskly walked out of the ramen stand.

Naruto watched him leave with a relieved air. He'd thought he'd never get rid of him. After another second, he sighed. Now he was far too wound up to sit in the library for hours. He needed to burn some of the nervous energy that had been building up during the awful and unwanted conversation.

Paying for his meal, Naruto left for the nearest training ground.

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**Q&A:  
Q: Will Naruto ever use chakra or Kyubi's power anytime soon?  
**A: Naruto will eventually regain the use of his chakra (in the far future), but Kyubi's role and fate will be kept secret for now, sorry.  
**Q: Who is the Hunder/ANBU Commander? Is it Kakashi's dad?  
**A: I'm not telling. And no, it's not Kakashi's dad. He's dead.  
**Q: Will Naruto and Tsunade become friends?  
**A: They're starting a tentative friendship in this chapter.  
**Q: Did you make Minato into a Gary-stu instead of Naruto?  
**A: No, although it might seem that way from the spar they had together. Remember that Minato's always been lauded as the greatest genius ever produced in Konoha. He's not invincible, but there's no way he'll loose to a chuunin without the ability to properly channel chakra. Least of all when that chuunin just recently lost his ability. Naruto has a lot of adjusting to do.  
**Q: Does Naruto feel a pulling sensation from Minato's transportation technique because they're related by blood?  
**A: Yes. Yes he does.  
**Q: How old are Minato and Kushina at this point in time?  
**A: Minato's twenty and Kushina's nineteen-twenty... (haven't really thought about Kushina's age.)  
**Q: How is Naruto supposed to find spies when he's drawing so much attention to himself?  
**A: Ahahaha! Oops... Naruto's impulsiveness managed to infect my muse. Not to worry though, Naruto's a big boy, he'll manage.

A/N: Finally done with this chapter. It didn't really want to be written, but I think I managed admirably... A big thank you to my beta Tsurai no Shi and many thanks to all of my reviewers. You make me so happy. Some of you even manage to guess where I'm going with parts of the plot. Am I really that transparent or are you all just psychic?


	7. Changes

Chapter 6.

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**Hokage Tower; the Hokage's Office; 07:01 GMT.**

Naruto nodded politely at the two ANBU guards stationed outside the Hokage's office as he was finally granted entrance. He'd been out of the hospital for three days now and the encounter he'd had with Orochimaru was nearly forgotten as nothing more had happened after their little chat. Now, he'd been summoned by the Hokage and Naruto truly had no idea what the old man wanted of him this time. He guessed he'd find out soon enough.

"Hokage-sama," Naruto greeted politely as he stopped a short distance from the old leader's desk.

The Sandaime glanced up from the reports he was reading to grant Naruto a small smile in greeting. "Doing better I hope?" the Hokage enquired as he shuffled his papers and put them away.

Naruto nodded. "I was fine the moment I woke up, but Tsunade-hime insisted on some rest and more tests before she let me leave. I've been back to work for three days now," he said to reassure the person he'd once considered a grandfather.

"Good, good," Sarutobi said absently, "I'm happy to hear that you're up and running again. As the situation is now, we need as many functioning shinobi as possible."

At the serious words, Naruto straightened his stance imperceptibly as he slipped into a more professional mode. "What do you mean, Hokage-sama?"

The old man sighed as he rose from his seat. "The conflicts along the border are escalating. More and more sightings of unauthorised travel across the border are reported by the day. In addition to that, the Iwa-nin you caught along with Namikaze-san was assassinated some time ago."

Naruto frowned as he absorbed what he was hearing.

"How are you coming along with the jutsu I gave you?" the Hokage abruptly changed the subject while Naruto was still caught in his thoughts.

Naruto did a double-take before he finally registered the new question. "Well enough," he answered almost at once. "I'm up to a partial transformation at the moment. The technique hurts as hell and it uses an insane amount of chakra, but I think it will be very useful in the approaching times," he said.

The jutsu-scroll he'd been handed by the Hokage after he'd signed his contract was a very advanced transformation technique. It wasn't an illusion like the low-level Henge they taught the academy students, but rather an actual physical transformation of the user. As such it required enough knowledge about anatomy to make sure that you didn't scramble your insides when you activated the jutsu.

At the moment, Naruto was able to make small adjustments to his appearance. He could change his hair-colour and his hair-texture, in addition to small changes to his facial structure. When he fully mastered the technique, he'd be able – in theory – to even physically change his gender.

The transformation technique literally worked on a cellular level. As such, it was possible for Naruto to transform from a twenty-year old natural blonde with facial markings to an old bald man (or woman) with wrinkles as long as he didn't loose or gain any mass in the transformation.

The fact that the technique worked on such a basic level was also the reason behind all the pain. Naruto hadn't really thought much about how much pain a human could endure before he's started to rearrange small parts of his molecular structure. The pain nearly rivalled what he'd felt during Akatuski's extraction ritual and it pretty much scrambled his concentration, which was why he'd never managed to transform anything but smaller parts of himself.

At the moment, the advanced transformation technique was the only jutsu requiring hand-seals that Naruto was able to use. This was because the technique focused solely on affecting internal parts of the user. Naruto very much doubted he'd be able to use it to transform anything else, like a tree-trunk or another person. In fact, he didn't even know if it would be possible to perform the technique on anything other than oneself even if he'd been able to properly channel his chakra.

When he'd fully mastered the technique, it would be invaluable to him as a spy, seeing as nothing short of a blood test or a person adept at sensing and distinguishing chakra would be able to reveal who he really was. And from what Naruto had learnt from Minato when they'd first met, it was impossible for anyone to sense his chakra unless they were in physical contact with him.

Naruto thought that to be awesome, seeing as he'd previously sucked at hiding his chakra.

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Naruto focused on the situation at hand again.

"Why do you wonder?" he asked the Hokage.

The Sandaime sighed heavily as he pondered silently to himself. Finally he seemed to reach a decision.

"I need you to be able to move invisibly from now on," he said. "I know I promised you free access to the library, but I really need you out in the field now. Would you be willing to take on missions outside the border and continue your research when time allows it?" he asked carefully.

Naruto regarded the old man in front of him carefully before he spoke. "The situation is really that bad?"

The Hokage nodded.

Releasing a small sigh himself, Naruto smiled in grim amusement. "Nothing to it then. I'll do what you ask of me. I know you haven't known me for a long time, but I can honestly say that I really like you. I think you're a great leader."

The Hokage blinked in bewilderment at the sudden change of topic and the unexpected compliment he'd received from the most baffling man he'd ever known. "Then I thank you for your willingness to help me," he finally said when he'd collected his scattered thoughts again.

Naruto broke into a wide grin. "Don't mention it. So, I gather that you want me to operate incognito and under a disguise from now on?" he ventured cheerfully.

The Sandaime nodded. "Yes, in accordance to your position as my personal shinobi, you'll go under the codename Yuurei when you employ any form of the transformation technique."

Naruto couldn't help but quirk and amused eyebrow. "From Rei to Yuurei? Not much of a codename," he said.

Naruto couldn't deny that he was tickled by the name though. It too meant 'ghost', but it was considered a more malevolent form of the word Naruto had adopted to be his name. In addition it suited his position as a ghost operator. He found he didn't mind the new codename at all.

Sarutobi smiled, showing that he too found amusement in the name he'd given him. "Maybe not, but with the disguises you'll be wearing, no-one will connect you to your undercover persona."

"As you say Hokage-sama," Naruto agreed affably.

The old Hokage tilted his head in thought. "Didn't we agree earlier to drop the formality between us?" He reminded the blonde chuunin in front of him. He got tired of all the superficial politeness people insisted on using and he'd found it refreshing that Rei had been willing to use his last name only instead of his title.

"As you say Sarutobi-sama," Naruto answered, this time cheekily.

The Sandaime chuckled.

"About the mission you require me to do…" Naruto prodded gently.

The monkey summoner sobered up as they returned to the heart of the matter.

"Right. First I need you to visit the border-post where the captured Iwa-nin was held. Enquire discreetly about anyone who visited the post in the days before and after the assassination. Maybe you can get some clues to who one of the traitors might be if they were careless enough to show themselves…and if indeed the assassination was made by a shinobi from Konoha. After that, I wish for you to infiltrate Iwa-"

Naruto blinked in surprise at this as he regarded the venerable leader with incredulous eyes. The old man ignored him completely as he continued giving out his orders.

"-Use the transformation technique. I don't care how you fulfil this mission, but I need you to obtain any information you can get on who the traitors in the village are, what the Iwa are planning and what they consider to be Konoha's greatest strength. I imagine the last objective will be the easiest to figure out."

_No doubt_, Naruto thought sullenly to himself. The objectives he was receiving were not exactly easy to complete. He began to wonder if the old man had smoked something stronger than the usual tobacco.

"You have a lot of faith in me old man," he said before he managed to censure his thoughts from his spoken words.

The Sandaime quirked an eyebrow at the way he'd just been addressed, but he let it be, not entirely able to convince himself that he didn't find it both endearing and somewhat amusing. The only bit of protest he could come up with anyway was that he wasn't _that_ old.

"Yes, but I do not believe it to be unfounded," Sarutobi said as he started to search through the mountain of files he had on a table to his left.

Finally finding what he was looking for, he pulled out a non-descript file and tossed it to Naruto.

"The file contains relevant information about border-patrols along the Konoha border as well as any information we've managed to attain concerning Iwa's border. In addition you'll find some maps and some information about hidden safe-houses beyond Konoha's border. The last paper in the file contains information of the shinobi that will be your contact while you are on this mission. I believe this particular person to be above suspicion so you can trust him with anything pertaining to your mission."

Naruto flipped through the file 'till he came to the last paper. He was curious as to who the Sandaime would trust at this point in time and with such critical information. When he saw the picture of the man he was supposed to report to he couldn't quite manage to hide his humour.

"Jiraiya, the Seal Master? My contact is Jiraiya? Well, I can't deny that this will be interesting."

The Hokage raised an eyebrow in obvious surprise. "You know of him?"

Naruto chuckled. "Hah! He's the biggest pervert currently in existence. Who _hasn't_ heard of the author of the _Icha Icha-series_?"

Sarutobi groaned. "I find it disconcerting that my student is known to you because of his amoral hobbies."

"Hobbies?" Naruto snorted again. "For him I gather it's more of a life-style."

The Hokage sighed.

010101010101

**Konoha Proper; Ichiraku's; 10:35 GMT.**

Naruto sighed in contentment as he inhaled another bowl of delicious ramen.

The Hokage had told him to leave the next morning so he was supposed to use the day to get his affairs in order as well as to prepare and pack for the extended mission he was undertaking.

Before he did all that though, Naruto figured he deserved to reward himself with a healthy intake of the heavenly food known as ramen.

"Rei-san."

Naruto broke into a small smile at the somewhat familiar voice that greeted him from the open street. Turning around in his chair, Naruto waved the kid over as he signalled for two bowls of ramen, one for him and one for the new arrival.

"I trust you like miso ramen Obito," he said to the young Uchiha.

Obito nodded, somewhat surprised at Naruto's easy acceptance of his presence.

"Do you eat here often?" Naruto enquired as he accepted the two new bowls of ramen that the owner passed over the counter.

Obito fidgeted. "Not really, only when sensei's girlfriend drags him and us with her. …She's crazy about ramen," he added as an afterthought.

Naruto smirked. "She's not crazy. She's just intelligent enough to know good food when she tastes it," he said.

Obito gave him a weird look and Naruto shrugged carelessly.

They ate in companionable silence after that.

When they'd finally finished eating, Naruto sat back to regard the black-haired genin in front of him. "So, what brings you here?" He asked.

Obito shrugged helplessly, suddenly seeming a lot more down than he'd been before. "Ah… it's nothing," he denied.

Naruto didn't believe that for a second. "You don't look like it's nothing," he wheedled.

"Ano…" Obito hesitated. "Could you keep a secret?" He asked slowly.

Naruto regarded the young shinobi in front of him seriously as he weighed the question. Obviously something important was going on, or at the very least something Obito felt was important to him.

"Sure," He finally answered the Uchiha. "I'll keep your secrets if you want."

Obito sighed. It sounded as if it was in both relief and in resignation. "My clan is filled with stuck-up assholes," he said in a serious, but still despondent voice.

"Oh?" Naruto stalled as he tried to keep an amused twitch from appearing on his features. He knew plenty about Uchiha's acting like assholes from his own personal experience.

Having actually started to talk about it seemed to get the ball rolling for the young genin. "Yeah, all they care about is their blood-limit and their standing in the village. My parents are always harping at me because I haven't activated the Sharingan yet. They…they say that I'm worthless to them if I can't get it activated. The clan-head is the worst. That's Fugaku, he's married to my big sister and she just got a kid. I feel really sorry for her though. Fugaku doesn't treat her right…" he trailed off despondently as he swirled a single remaining ramen-strand in the left-over broth. Finally he continued somewhat hesitantly. "The clan head… I overheard him in a conversation with my father once. He said that if I'd been his son, he'd have had me assassinated ages ago for my incompetence. He said that Uchiha without their Sharingan should be put down like stray dogs because of their weak genes. In addition to that I'm even more of a disappointment because I have an eye-condition where my tear-ducts don't produce enough moisture for my eye. Sometimes it can affect my vision and in the long term I may go blind…"

Naruto's brow furrowed. He'd been aware that both Itachi and Sasuke were a couple of complete assholes, but he'd never really known anything about the clan's values or its strictness. By the time the massacre occurred, he'd only been five years old. At that point in his life he'd been more concerned with surviving himself, than the loss of Konoha's most infamous clan. He realized with discomfort that if Obito was telling the truth, that the Uchiha clan may well be even worse than the Hyuga in some ways. If that was true it wasn't really a wonder that Itachi did what he did.

He could remember perfectly clearly all the stories Hinata had told him about what was expected from her as the heir of the clan. The pressure she'd received was enormous and she'd had major troubles with her confidence as a result of her father's and the clan's expectations and demands.

Itachi had been a child prodigy surpassing anyone the Uchiha had ever allegedly produced before – barring perhaps the founder; Uchiha Madara. How would he have responded to all the pressure laid on him? If he was already doing everything perfectly and it still wasn't good enough…

Naruto's thoughts trailed off as a sudden clarity of what he had to do struck him. He'd already wowed to himself that if he was stuck here, he'd change as much of the future to the better if he could. Maybe…maybe he should start already? Maybe the most important changes he could make were the small ones…

_That's it._ He resolved to himself. _I'll do my best to help the people I come across so that they can get happier and feel safer in their place here in Konoha. If they're content with their lives, they can only get stronger._

Naruto was going to do something no-one had bothered doing before. He was going to stand up for and help the new generations in Konoha to the best of his ability. Starting today with Obito.

"Have you talked to anyone else about this?" Naruto asked slowly as he fished out some notes to pay for the bill.

Obito shook his head. "No, I'd talk to my sister, but she's already under enough pressure as it is, being married to that asshole Fugaku and having to take care of her newborn kid. And my team… Well, sensei knows about the… eh… eye condition I have, but nothing more than that. I'm not supposed to talk about clan matters with anyone outside the clan and if I told sensei we'd both get in trouble. Other than that my team-mates really wouldn't understand. Rin's nice and all, but she's not from a strict clan and Kakashi's an asshole. He'd only make more fun of me if he knew. I just…I just don't know what to do."

Naruto sighed as he signalled that they should take a walk. Obito willingly rose to follow him.

"Why did you decide to talk to me about it? If it could get us both into trouble I mean?" he prodded as they veered off from the main street and started to walk towards the Hokage Monument.

Obito shrugged lightly as his eyes lighted up as his mood improved marginally. "Eh… I don't know. You're just… I feel like I can trust you. In a way you really remind me of sensei," he said. "…But, you're new to the village too so you don't really have any preconceptions and your also really cool and strong. The way you sparred with sensei…it was _awesome!_"

Naruto chuckled as the mood lightened even more.

After some minutes of silent walking Naruto finally decided to say something to lighten Obito's worries a bit. "You shouldn't take Fugaku's words to heart. There's no way the Hokage would let anyone get away with blatant assassination in his village – especially not from a clan-head. In addition to that, the conflict that's worsening will probably keep your clan's attention diverted for the moment."

Instead of making Obito feel better, it only sobered him up from the light mood they'd just achieved.

"I know that. I don't think any of them would really kill me…maybe disown me, but not kill. It still hurts though. And I really worry because I want to get the Sharingan. If I don't get it I'll always be weak and a disappointment to my family."

Naruto sighed heavily as he glanced at the depressed teen walking next to him. What did you say to something like that? Naruto had plenty of experience with derogatory remarks, but he'd never had a family – a blood relative – tell him he was worthless. In a way it made Naruto happy that he'd never known his parents. He wouldn't have been able to withstand the open hatred he'd inevitably get from them just because he'd been chosen to be a jinchuuriku at his birth.

When he broke out of his thoughts he was a bit surprised to find that they were at the top of the Hokage Monument. The Yondaime's head hadn't been added yet so the view was a bit different from what Naruto was used to, but they still found a nice spot to sit on where they could see the entirety of Konoha village.

"Listen," Naruto finally broke the silence again. "I really believe you'll get your Sharingan eventually. You're probably just a late bloomer and you know what they say about late bloomers," he comforted the boy. "You'll definitely become the greatest Uchiha ever. You'll probably even surpass Madara himself."

"You're just saying that." The young Uchiha remained unmoved.

Naruto sighed again, this time in slight exasperation. "You know what makes a ninja really strong?" he asked, remembering back to what seemed ages ago, when he'd learned the most important lesson ever from the most unlikely source.

"What?" The black-haired youth wheedled.

Naruto smiled gently as he ruffled Obito's hair. "The strongest ninja in existence are those that have something or someone precious to protect. That's why the Hokage is so powerful, he loved Konoha and he's willing to do everything to protect it."

Obito glanced up at Naruto with wondering eyes. "Really?"

"Yes. Really. Just find what's precious to you. Do your best to protect it and you'll grow stronger than any of those stuffed-up, glorified turkeys belonging to that clan of yours. You're a good kid Obito and you have a lot of hidden potential. All you have to do is bring it out." Naruto said confidently.

Obito's face lightened up considerably as a wide grin broke over his face. "Thanks, Rei-san," he said gratefully.

Naruto ruffled his hair again as he returned the blinding grin. It only widened further at Obito's loud protests at the perceived manhandling.

When they'd finally calmed down again Naruto sighed softly. "I'm going away on a mission for the Hokage tomorrow," he confided in the young genin.

Obito snapped to attention, not really liking that his newest role-model was leaving him.

Naruto saw the kid's expression, but forged on anyway. "It's a really top secret mission so you can't tell anyone what I'm telling you now. Do you understand?"

Obito nodded seriously, feeling honoured now that such a capable shinobi as Rei-san was willing to confide in him.

Naruto smiled. "Good. I'll be gone for a long time. There's no time-limit at the moment, but I suspect months, maybe even a year depending on how successful I am." Fishing in his pocket, Naruto pulled out a blank key. "This is the key to my apartment. I'll show you where it is later if you agree to a favour I want to ask you." He said.

"A favour?" Obito asked. "What kind of favour?"

Naruto continued to smile gently. "I want you to look after my apartment while I'm gone. Just look in on it whenever you have the time, but don't let it get in the way of your personal life or your missions. Can you do that for me?"

"Of course!" Obito promised excitedly. "It'll be no problem."

Naruto chuckled. "Good. In return you can sleep there whenever the clan gets too much for you and you just need a break. I'll even teach you a couple of jutsu I know when I get back." I promised in return.

Obito lightened considerably. "Awesome!" he cheered as he jumped up with a fist in the air. "Come on! Let's get to your apartment." He began pulling on Naruto's sleeve in his excitement and Naruto couldn't help but laugh out light.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Sheesh! Calm down!"

010101010101

**Konoha Forest; North-west bound; Nearing Konoha border-post; 22:35 GMT.**

Naruto began to slow down as he neared the border-post he was supposed to do some investigation at.

He'd activated the transformation jutsu even before he left Konoha and was now travelling as a brunette with hassle-brown eyes. He'd managed to straighten out his hair some with the help of the jutsu, resulting in a less wild look. In addition he'd managed to make small changes to his face – like removing the whisker-marks – and lifting his cheek-bones some. No-one who'd ever seen him as Rei would recognize him as the same man now.

Finally arriving at the border-post he slowed down completely so as to approach at a non-hostile pace.

The shinobi at the border-post received him with a harassed air about them. It was obvious that the border situation hadn't gotten any better since Naruto had been her before. Naruto showed them his 'official' papers as a registered mercenary operating in the shinobi countries.

Mercenaries were not really usual in the shinobi world and they were mostly regarded with great disdain by the professional shinobi. As far as ninja were concerned, professional mercenaries were even less worthy than samurai. At least samurai swore fealty to one particular person – mainly a daimyo. Mercenaries were not afflicted to anyone and were notorious for changing master at the drop of a coin – that is – they followed the money-flow.

Naruto figured the mercenaries would become even more unpopular as the conflict escalated, but at the moment – with everything else going on – Naruto's disguise could only help him. Mercenaries were the least gifted fighters in the shinobi world. They were the ones who didn't make the cut to either become ninja or samurai, but still wanted to be fighters or warriors. The only reason that they even got jobs was that they typically were willing to accept any job no matter how distasteful. As such, Naruto would be severely underestimated by the shinobi he dealt with at the border patrol. As far as they were concerned, ha wasn't even worth the time they had to use to register his passing presence.

…Which suited Naruto just fine.

After getting himself registered, Naruto retreated from the presence of the shinobi to relax in the open lounge offered by the border-post to the travellers.

Once alone in the lounge, Naruto drew out a small parchment containing a seal he'd fashioned after waking up in the hospital. He'd gotten the idea for the seal while sparring with Minato.

Normally, he would've spent a minimum of weeks to design a brand new seal, but he was so used to the particular effects of what he wanted to accomplish that he'd managed to make the seal at record time. He couldn't quite help the proud grin that overtook his face as he activated the seal with a small drop of chakra-enhanced blood dropped at the exact centre of the small circular seal.

The seal began to glow.

With a puff of smoke an exact copy of Naruto appeared in front of him. The particularities of the transformation jutsu's effects on Naruto's cellular structure even guaranteed that Naruto's current appearance was conserved. It was the activating drop of blood that determined the identity – and the appearance – of the user and the clone that appeared.

Naruto had in effect created a solid clone – like the shadow-clone – with the use of blood, written seals and chakra instead of the usual shadows, hand seals and chakra. He very much doubted he'd be able to do this unless he'd been a Master shadow-clone user before his run in with the Akatsuki.

From the few experiments he'd performed with the seal before he left the village, Naruto knew that the clone could be dispelled as easily as the original shadow-clones, but he was confident that he would be able to create more durable seal-clones if he only put more time and effort – and probably more blood and chakra – into it.

Smirking silently in triumph, Naruto left the clone alone in the lounge to begin his own unofficial tour of the border-post.

Naruto quickly realized that the post was severely undermanned at the moment. He didn't run into any guards patrolling the hallways and with his chakra completely hidden by his messed up coils, he didn't have to worry about anyone detecting him in that manner.

The holding cells were ridiculously easy to find, particularly since he'd seen them when Minato had delivered the captured Iwa-nin here the last time he ventured through.

Peeking through the reinforced, small glass windows on the doors to the cells, Naruto was quick to find the – unlocked – room where the assassinated Iwa's corpse was kept. The corpse was well kept and Naruto assumed that the ninja running the post had used some sort of preservation technique on the dead body.

Naruto had to roll his eyes at how easy this was turning out to be.

Quickly letting himself into the room, Naruto opened the dead man's shirt as he bit his thumb to draw forth some blood. It was time to put Minato's teachings to good use.

Completing the seal he was drawing as fast as possible while still making sure to not make any mistakes, Naruto pulled a pre-drawn sealing scroll from an inner pocket. Activating the two seals, the corpse disappeared into sub-space as the sealing took effect.

Naruto let out a sigh in relief. Now he only needed to get out of the basement and return to the lounge where his clone was. After that, he'd start to discreetly get information from the ninja managing the post. Either that or he'd steal the log detailing the comings and goings that were registered by the shinobi running the post.

010101010101

**Grey-border-zone; North-west of Konoha; 03:35 GMT.**

A black-haired Naruto sporting sky-blue eyes with a marring scar running across his face from under his right eye to his lower cheek skidded to a panting stop as he arrived to a small – but still wide – river cutting across the path he'd chosen for his trek to the village of stone.

The change of appearance was the result of having had to requisition the border-post's log. He'd left the border-post as soon as he could after that. Obviously. What with a double thievery occurring Naruto didn't really think it prudent to stick around.

No doubt the border-patrol would report the disappearance of the corpse and the log, but the Hokage already knew that Naruto would be behind it so hopefully he would call off all the men chasing the 'thief' as soon as possible. As it was now, Naruto was content with the change off appearance.

Currently Naruto was in the grey-zone of the border between the Fire Country and the Grass Country. The grey-zones were the areas between land borders where patrols weren't moving from either of the nations bordering each other. It was the unofficial neutral zone between nations.

Finding the area to be the safest possible for him at the moment, Naruto made camp by the river. He'd have to figure out a way to cross the river before he could continue anyway. Not being able to perform water-walking would be a real pain in the ass, he realised as he pondered on his next move.

He fell asleep quickly that night considering the hour and all the exertion he'd been doing it wasn't really strange. When he woke up early the next morning he managed to wake himself exceptionally fast by taking a freezing morning swim to cross the river.

When he was a relatively safe distance from the river, but still within the grey-zone, Naruto pulled out the log he'd pilfered from the border-post. He quickly found the names of the individuals that had worked at or checked in with the post in the time shortly before or after the assassination.

Amongst the names of various chuunin and genin teams – one of the teams even consisting of an Uchiha – Naruto found a name that stood out as clear as the sun would do if it ever appeared on midnight sky.

Apparently Orochimaru had visited the border-post on the very same day that the assassination had occurred.

And wasn't _that_ interesting?

After dutifully burning the rest of the log – and sealing the ripped-off piece of condemning evidence away on a small paper hidden in the stuffing of his jacket – Naruto pulled out the scroll containing the dead corpse of the assassinated Iwa-nin.

He was glad that he was surrounded by a thick bamboo-forest that provided excellent cover when he released the sealed body.

What he did now would undoubtedly get him killed immediately if any Iwa-nin – or maybe even Grass-nin – saw him and realized what he was doing.

Regarding the dead body in front of him dispassionately, Naruto began to search the body for any signs of external damage. He learned plenty of anatomical knowledge as a requirement before he could achieve the jounin rank he'd held before he'd accidentally travelled to the past. That knowledge had only increased while he was studying how to successfully perform the advanced transformation technique.

It wasn't difficult to find the mark of the killing blow. It seemed to be a clean cut from some sort of single-edged blade – most likely a katana – that had pierced the nin's cervical spine between the 4C and the 5C vertebrae. The death would've been instant.

The blade had entered from the back, but had not pierced through the front of the neck, suggesting that the killer was exceptionally gifted with a sword. Either that or he'd had extensive education in control and anatomy.

Naruto couldn't help but remember the sword Orochimaru was able to summon in the future. He was probably able to perform the summoning now too…

After inspecting the corpse Naruto re-sealed it – this time using a slightly different seal that would only release if hisown or the Hokage's ring was used to activate the releasing seal.

With the ugly business taken care of the journey continued through Grass Country and towards the border of Earth Country where the village of Stone was located.

When he arrived at the border, he was stopped by an Iwa-nin patrol faster than he could blink.

Luckily he'd been prepared for this before he'd even exited Grass' border and had acted a part ever since.

He pulled on the rucksack-strap he was carrying absently as he wavered drunkenly with a half-empty bottle off cheep liquor in his free hand. "Greetings shins…shinosh…shob…eh…" He stumbled slightly as he played at gathering his thoughts. "…Ninja!" he finished his greeting far too exuberantly.

One of the Iwa-nin that had stopped him for inspection – and possible interrogation – groaned loudly.

Naruto blinked stupidly as he desperately tried to keep from laughing. A bit of liquor sloshed out of the bottle when he wavered too much and tipped the bottle until some of the liquid inevitably spilled over. Naruto affected a truly mournful expression when he noticed the unnecessary loss of good alcohol.

Many of the ninja in front of him rolled their eyes in exasperation.

The apparent leader of the patrol finally decided to get to business. "State your name, profession and purpose for entering the Land of Earth," he said self-importantly.

Naruto blinked again before striking a pose eerily similar to what Gai would use in the future when he babbled on about 'the Springtime of Youth'. (You could always sense the capitals he used.)

"I'm the great and terrible free-lance seal-grafter known through all the ninja countries as the…the…damn. I can't remember."

The talker took an audible deep breath as he fought for patience. "And what is your name?"

"Inu." Naruto said decisively.

They all looked at him weirdly.

"Your name is 'Dog'?" The leader asked sceptically.

Taking a deep swig from the bottled, Naruto proceeded to nod vigorously. "It's a long story." He started. "My mother, who was the daughter of my father's great-uncle, grew up in the Land of Waterfall. She always thought that-"

He was cut off by the leader.

"I don't care about your life story. Tell us what business you have here." He demanded.

Peering down the neck of the now empty bottle, Naruto stumbled slightly to the left before he managed to regain his balance again. "Why, I'm here to offer my services," he declared as if it was obvious.

The assembled enemy shinobi regarded the apparent drunk in front of them with open disbelief.

"What kind of services?" an obviously female voice asked from the back of the group. "Prostitution?" She was being sarcastic.

Naruto could already tell he liked her and as he leered openly at her he answered in an overly sultry tone. "For you baby, that too."

He got a fist in the face and landed decidedly hard on his posterior.

The incensed female had to be held forcibly back from killing him.

"You perverted little ogre. I'll-!"

"Your purpose?" The leader demanded, completely ignoring the ruckus happening behind him. Naruto could practically see the killer intent building up in the man, though he didn't know if it would be directed on him or on the noisy female.

"My expertise at the arts of sealing of course," he said as he picked himself gingerly and slowly up off the ground. He shook his head and then grabbed it in apparent dizziness and pain.

"There's no way a moron like you know anything about the arts of sealing," one of the ninja holding the female said in denial.

"Sure there is," Naruto said cheerfully as he began to tick some of his knowledge off on his fingers. "I know of explosion seals, binding seals, storing seals and even some summoning seals. Though those last ones are a pain in the a-… eh…" He gave a nervous glance towards the irate female-nin before he changed his mind on the word he was about to use. "…Posh…poll…post? Posterior," he finished.

The entire group of enemy shinobi rolled their eyes again.

010101010101

**Village of Stone; Civilian district; Hotel room 13; 12:24 GMT.**

After talking himself out of not having any official identification papers (his great-grandfather's dog stole them and gave them to a chipmunk – long story – who apparently used them as toilet paper when it did the number-two in the forest under the great pine-tree which… - you get the picture). Naruto was given some documents to grant him temporary passage through Earth Country provided he went straight to the Village of Stone to clear his presence with the officials there.

The whole affair had gone surprisingly smoothly, but then seal-grafters were highly sought after no matter how shitty or incompetent they appeared to be – or were.

At his arrival at Iwa, Naruto had proven his profession by grafting an easy seal used to store very small items like soldier-pills or vitamin-pills. Even small seals like that were greatly appreciated and sought after in a war effort; which both Naruto and the Iwa-nin knew were coming.

His knowledge of sealing granted him permission to live in the village as long as he sold his creations to the shinobi of Iwa while he was there.

Naruto very much doubted they'd let him leave at all now that they knew he had at least rudimentary knowledge about seals. But that, as they say, was a problem for another day. All that mattered now was that he'd successfully managed to infiltrate the hostile village.

010101010101

**Q&A:  
Q: Where's the logic in Naruto feeling a pulling sensation from Minato's Hiraishin just because they're related by blood?  
**A: Minato's technique is based on his blood (his DNA essentially) in a fundamental way. _"Blood calls to blood..."_ Everything will be explained better in a future chapter. (Sometime after Naruto and Minato find out that they're related.)  
**Q: Is Orochimaru already searching for a new body? Will he kidnap Naruto? Did he/will he find out that Naruto lied about his ability?  
**A: No, Orochimaru hasn't finalized that body-switching technique of his yet. He has no current reason to kidnap Naruto. He doesn't suspect Naruto to be lying and has therefore completely forgotten that he exists other than the fact that he was a passing curiosity (because of his blood-limit).  
**Q: What is the price Naruto has to pay for his blood-limit?  
**A: Suffice is to say that he's already paid it.  
**Q: Has Jiraiya taught Nagato, Yahiko and Konan Yet?  
**A: Huh? Oh... those people. Um... yeah I think so. You'll probably notice some inconsistencies in the story (some already have), but it's for a good purpose and it won't ruin the canon story.  
**Q: Is it possible [for Naruto to use seals instead of handseals so that he can perform jutsu?  
**A: I believe that's been answered i this chapter, but there will be limitations to using seals instead of hand-seals.  
**Q: Have Jiraiya, Tsunade and Orochimaru been nicknamed the Sannin yet?  
**A: Yes. Though it doesn't really matter as it doesn't concern the plot all that much.  
**Q: When will Naruto learn Kushina's last name?  
**A: Sometime after he's returned to Konoha after his mission in Iwa.  
**Q: Will Naruto and Tsunade become more than friends?  
**A: Um... They'll become the bestest friends? No. Naruto and Tsunade will not have a romantic relationship.  
**Q: Are Dan and Nawaki still alive?  
**A: Yes.  
**Q: Will this be slash/yaoi?  
**A: No. (Again.)  
**Q: Will Naruto embark on a self-fulfilling prophesy by suspecting Orochimaru all the time? (Will Naruto be the reason Orochimaru turns traitor?)  
**A: No, Orochimaru is already a lying sociopath. He can manage just fine to commit treason on his own.  
**Q: Will Gai and the other sensei of the rookie nine be included in the story?  
**A: Yes, but they won't play any significant roles in the plot.  
**Q: Did the Kyubi originally appear to collect payment from a clan that broke a contract? Is Naruto a Kyubi magnet? Can Kyubi be summoned?  
**A: None of the clans in Konoha have a contract with the Kyubi. They're not suicidal. No, Naruto is not a Kyubi magnet. Yes, Kyubi can be summoned provided the summoner has an insane amount of chakra at his disposal and that the summoner is suicidal too. (The summoner would also have to have the required knowledge to break the barriers to the hell-dimension.)  
**Q: Is being a jinchuuriku enough to qualify you for a blood-limit?  
**A: No. Though a jinchuuriku would theoretically have more of a chance to communicate with and obtain a contract from a supernatural being (at least the supernatural being inside them).  
**Q: Will this be an epic length fic?  
**A: Epic as in over 100 000 words? Yes.  
**Q: How old is Naruto now?  
**A: Naruto is 20. Minato is 20. Kushina is 19/20. Kakashi, Obito and Rin are 10. The Sannin are in their late 20s/early 30s. Anyone else?  
**Q: Is Naruto's advanced healing really a blood-limit?  
**A: Yes. It really is.  
**Q: Doesn't anyone see the resmblance between Minato and Naruto?  
**A: Sure they do. They just think it would be impolite to mention it seeing as they might inadvertedly imply that Minato's mother was a cheating skank. (It won't really matter now that Naruto can use partial transformations on his missions.)

A/N: Whew! That was a lot of Q&As. Hmm... hope you got your questions answered. If not, try again. Next update may be in a while since I'm having an exam again soon. After that I'm going on a trip to the US of A.


	8. Encounters

Chapter 7.

0101010101

**Village of Stone; Shopping district; **_**Three weeks after infiltrating Iwa; **_**06:00 GMT.**

Naruto yawned loudly as he put the key into the lock of the door and turned it around. He'd been in Iwa for three weeks now and had already managed to find and buy some premises in the shopping district where he could open the business Iwa's shinobi expected – more like demanded – him to have.

He'd settled into Iwa's society relatively easily despite minor misunderstandings he'd had with the fairer sex while he worked to keep up his persona of a lecherous drunkard.

He still lived in the hotel he'd checked into on his arrival in the shinobi village, but that was only until he'd finished the renovation of the top floor of his new shop. The previous owner had kept a bookstore and he'd used the top floor as some sort of break-room and storage-room.

The renovation work was nearly done now and pretty soon, Naruto would be the proud owner of a small shop with built-in workroom, bedroom, kitchen and bath. The bedroom, kitchen and bath were being installed on the top floor while the workroom had been built into the ground floor by putting in a new wall to separate it from the main shop.

Naruto had already had many shinobi come to him to requisition seals from him. The most popular ones were exploding seals and storage seals for weapons. He didn't really have a problem with grafting seals that may very well be used against his own village and allies because he'd already cleared it with the Hokage. Iwa was one of the most hostile of the five great shinobi villages and they'd agreed that Naruto would have to use his expertise with seals as a way for the Iwa to let him into their village.

As long as Naruto was an asset to the village of Stone, they'd want him there and they'd probably even protect him in some manner. There were very few seal-grafters in existence in this day and age. There'd even been few around in Naruto's original time. Jiraiya had once speculated that this might be because only a miniscule percentage of people born were born with the instinctive ability – the gift – to graft seals without blowing themselves to smithereens.

It was a widely accepted theory that the knowledge of sealing was gifted to humanity from the Kami. In the earliest age of the art, seal-grafters were regarded as something close to sages or enlightened monks. The high stature of seal-grafters diminished with time, but most of the respect and the demand for them still existed.

Opening the door to his shop, and at the same time making the bell above the door jingle, Naruto gave the premises a quick look around before he headed to the backroom where he'd left all the needed equipment he'd bought.

The workroom was small. Nearly all of the space was taken up by the large table positioned in the middle of the room. The walls were crammed with shelves and an occasional cabinet. The shelves were filled with different scrolls. They varied in sizes and in texture. The cabinets were similarly filled with different pencils, brushes and brands of ink.

Naruto intended to use his time in Iwa well. He had long wondered if the different types of ink and paper – or surface that the seals were grafted into – made a difference. In addition, he intended to experiment with the amount of chakra and blood he used in the seals he made.

His time spent in Iwagakure would ultimately be used to develop new seals and sealing-techniques when he wasn't occupied with his mission and Iwa's demand of his sealing-expertise.

Humming lightly, Naruto pulled the backpack he was carrying off his back. He hung it on a hook on the wall. After that, he cheerfully fished out a bottle of alcohol as he began to rummage through his cabinets and his shelves for the equipment he would be needing this day.

Naruto had been working for only an hour when the bell above his door jingled, signalling that someone had entered his shop.

Cheerfully wiping his ink- and bloodstained hands off on a convenient piece of fabric, Naruto grabbed the bottle of liquor before he ambled his way into the business-room of his shop.

"Greetings customer! How may I serve you on this fabulous day?"

The grey-clad shinobi that had entered gave Naruto an incredulous look and Naruto noticed sheepishly that it had started to rain during the time he'd spent in the backroom. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment as he waved the bottle around wildly with the other.

"No matter! No matter! It's still a wonderful day above all those grey, stormy clouds. What can I do for you shinobi-san?"

Snorting in annoyance, the brown-haired male in front of him rolled his eyes in exasperation.

Naruto could've sworn he heard the man mumble something about no-good-drunkards and the possibility of blowing themselves up. He continued to grin widely as he thought about the mumbled statement.

The Iwa-nin was right in what he assumed. If Naruto had really been drunk – instead of only playing drunk – then there'd be a great possibility of him blowing himself up. In fact, he'd never heard of any living seal-grafters who fashioned seals if they were under the influence. Seal-grafting was such a precise occupation that one needed to be perfectly coherent in order to not risk blowing themselves up. The smallest mistake could mean a loss of life.

"Eh… whatever…" the shinobi in front of him sighed, "My sensei sent me here to check if you've finished with the order he placed. He said that you opened shop today so he assumed you'd have some wares to sell."

Naruto nodded energetically. He'd spent the entire weekend beforehand grafting seals to be sold, and he'd continued after he arrived at the shop this morning. He should have more than enough for the orders that had been placed in the tree weeks he'd been here.

"I sure do, I sure do," Naruto assured the shinobi as he started to search in one of the drawers of the counter for the list of orders he already had. "What was the name of your sensei again?" he asked as he began to leaf through the list of names.

"It should be under 'Ganseki'-sama," the shinobi answered.

He looked completely bored and Naruto could imagine how the young shinobi would much rather be _out_ there doing more exciting missions than picking up some seal-scrolls for his teacher.

"Ganseki…Ganseki…" Naruto mumbled as he brought the list of names close to his face to _squint_ at the poor writing. "Ah! Here it is. Ten explosion-seals and two medium-storage-seals?" he asked to confirm the order.

The errand-boy nodded long-sufferingly as he gave a heave sigh.

"Great!" Naruto chirped not at all deterred as he turned to the backroom. He'd had a brooding Uchiha as his best friend for years. He could survive arrogant jerks as well as the other hero. "I'll be right back."

Once in the work-room, Naruto pulled out the requested seals and scrolls from the shelf holding finished works.

"Here you go!" Naruto said happily as he stumbled back into the room.

The shinobi suddenly looked somewhat nervous as he regarded Naruto's handling of the very much deadly explosion-seals.

"Uh, yeah…thanks!" he quickly said as he tried to grab them from Naruto's grasp.

Naruto stumbled to the left and out of the shinobi's reach as he shook his head vigorously. "Nuh-uh," he said, "Payment first."

The shinobi was actually starting to sweat nervously as he handed over the necessary cash. Naruto had to concentrate a whole lot not to loose his cool and laugh out loud.

When he shinobi finally made his way carefully out the door – and the doorbell jingled cheerfully – he mumbled to himself again. "Never again. Not worth it. That man is insane!"

Naruto's eyes twinkled merrily as he finally allowed himself to laugh out loud.

Picking the discarded half-full bottle of liquor up from the counter, he turned and waltzed back into the work-room to continue the seal-grafting he'd been doing when he was interrupted by his first customer. He had an inclination that he'd be able to enjoy his stay here in this village tremendously if every customer were as easily spooked as the first one.

He chuckled to himself in amusement.

Explosion-seals were actually very secure as long as they were not activated by a deliberate chakra-burst. They had to be. They were after all used by shinobi on duty. And shinobi on duty were very rarely in safe situations.

Picking up the discarded brush he'd used to paint the blood- and chakra-saturated ink, Naruto carefully rinsed it before he dipped it back into the ink again to continue his work.

He was looking forwards to the end of his first month here in Iwagakure. If he had the schedule right, Jiraiya would be dropping by, by the end of the week.

He could barely wait to finally meet the younger version of his old, perverted sensei again. He hoped they would get along well…

0101010101

**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop; **_**One month after infiltrating Iwa; **_**22:00 GMT.**

Naruto carefully channelled his chakra into his blood-stream as he cut a deep vertical cut in his own left palm. Holding the bleeding wound over a small bowl of ink, Naruto stirred carefully as he concentrated hard on the wound and his own chakra-flow.

The edges of the wound glowed with a soft-blue light, but it didn't knit together.

He'd begun to experiment with his healing ability after he'd discovered that it was the results of a blood-limit.

It hadn't taken him too long to figure out that he could control his ability to heal to an extent. The first and most obvious thing he'd discovered was that he could speed the healing up if he channelled his chakra into his blood and to the needed area. This was both a curse and a blessing…well…actually more of a curse. Seeing as he was only able to use chakra-enhanced blood to perform any techniques – i.e. seals – it became a great hassle for his wounds to close before he'd barely bled at all.

Luckily he discovered – with a lot more experimentation – that he could also slow the healing down – or even stop it completely – if he only concentrated and focused enough.

If he wanted to stop the healing completely, he only had to keep his chakra from filtering into the blood-stream…a relatively easy task to perform.

On the other hand, when he needed to bleed chakra-enhanced blood in order to use it for sealing, Naruto only had to focus intensely on his chakra not entering anything else but the white- and red-cells in his blood. This was a lot harder than it seemed and in a way it resembled some very advanced chakra-controlling exercises Naruto had heard about, but never performed himself.

At this moment in time, Naruto did not have nearly enough concentration to be able to hold a wound open in battled while he attempted to graft a seal. This, he hoped, would come with more experience. At the moment, Naruto was only able to achieve the necessary focus if he concentrated completely on the task to the exclusion of everything else.

…Which was why he was caught completely off guard when a deep voice suddenly interrupted his concentration.

"What are you doing?"

Yelping loudly, Naruto span around quickly, accidentally knocking the bowl of ink and blood to the floor with his flailing arms.

The wound closed instantly as his concentration broke.

"What the fuck!" Naruto exclaimed as he took in the shadowed form in the corner of the work-room. "Who the _hell_ are _you_ and how the hell did you manage to come in here?" he asked loudly as he pointed and flailed about.

He'd been in the village for exactly a month now and the military situation had changed drastically in the week that had gone by since he'd opened his shop. For civilians – such as himself at the moment – the most important change had been the curfew that had been enforced on the inhabitants of the village.

The curfew had been set to nine in the evening and now only authorized personelle were allowed to be outside after the ninth hour and until six in the morning. For Naruto and some of the other civilians living in their own store, this had not been a problem, but for others the change had proved to be difficult. They'd all accepted the Tsuchikage's decision though, anything less could very well mean death, or at least imprisonment.

The reason for the sudden curfew was the increased hostile activity at the border. The Kage wanted to ensure that no hostile shinobi would be able to infiltrate or attack the village during the night when spotting them would be a lot more difficult.

The curfew was one of the reasons of why Naruto hadn't been expecting any visitors at this point in time. The other reason was the warding-seals Naruto had placed on the walls and the door-opening of the work-room.

Being that he was working with rare sealing-formulas in a hostile village, Naruto hadn't wanted any of his works or notes to be stolen. In addition to that, he didn't want to open for the possibility that anyone might disturb him – like what had just happened – if he was working on any volatile seals.

With this in mind, Naruto hadn't wasted any time or resources in constructing and grafting some seals to keep intruders out of the room where his work was kept and done. They also served to keep sound from entering or leaving the room as it helped to be able to concentrate fully when one was grafting seals. Theoretically, the warding seals were additionally supposed to electrify any unwanted intruders that tried to enter the sealed room. Any unwanted intruders would be all those that had not been keyed into the seals by Naruto and currently Naruto was the only one that was keyed in.

As an extra security measure – to make sure that unaware customers didn't accidentally fry themselves in an attempt to contact Naruto while he was in the work-room – Naruto had put up a large sign on the door to that room that warned anyone from entering at the risk of death.

He'd been questioned by one of the Iwa-shinobi once of what he thought he was doing by putting up a warding-seal like that and Naruto had told the truth… Well, part of it anyway.

He'd said that he didn't want to risk blowing the village up if anyone entered while he was working.

The word had spread quickly after that and no other customers had questioned the warning sign on the door. One of the jounin frequenting him had actually thanked him for his consideration of the village's inhabitants and ninja. Naruto had smiled and shrugged off the thanks as he'd chugged down half a bottle of liquor in front of the suddenly and inexplicably nervous jounin.

As a teenager (travelling with Jiraiya) Naruto had cursed his inability to become drunk – his healing ability took care of the poison before he'd ever even begun to feel tipsy – but now, Naruto had never been more grateful for his ability to chug alcohol and be unaffected. It helped tremendously with the charade he was playing here in this hostile and unknown village.

Naruto found it hilarious too, how he was able to scare hardened-shinobi-veterans by acting like a seal-grafter continually drunk off his ass.

Before Naruto could even begin to react, the shadowed figure in front of him stepped out of the shadows and towards the bottle of liquor Naruto always kept within easy grasp to be able to play his part as soon as it was needed.

"Hey!" the intruder cheered as he picked up the bottle. "This is really quality liquor. I hope you don't mind sharing Yuurei-san."

Naruto blinked in sudden recognition and bewilderment.

_Ero-sennin?_ He thought as he watched the confusing hurricane that was his future sensei.

Picking a pair of conveniently placed cups off one of the shelves, the white-haired sannin with the red lines running from his eyes down his chin proceeded to pour some of the golden liquid into both of them before he handed one of the cups to Naruto.

"Drink up boy. You're going to need it," Jiraiya said, uncharacteristically serious.

Naruto fumbled clumsily before he managed to accept the cup given to him. _What the fuck? I know he was supposed to arrive around this time, but I never expected him to be as serious as he seems to be …And how the hell did he manage to circumvent my wards?_

Deciding to keep his questions to himself for the moment, Naruto casually murmured out a sentence that could be taken as an insult to Jiraiya's presence. "You'll never guess what the cat dragged in this time, mom!" he said it in the perfect voice of a complaining, whining child.

Jiraiya snorted loudly as he answered back. "I've told you; it's a panther, not a cat and tell it to _put you down!_"

Naruto relaxed marginally from the tense position he'd been in when the agreed-upon code was spoken and completed.

"Jiraiya-sama," he greeted the man as he put the cup down on the table. Slipping off the chair he'd been sitting in, Naruto began to clean up the mess that had been made on the floor from the spilt ink and blood.

The white-haired sannin peered curiously over the table as he regarded the result of his unexpected appearance.

"What were you doing?" he asked again as he watched the black-haired man collect the remains of the broken clay-bowl.

Naruto sighed as he straightened from his crouch. "As if you can't guess Jiraiya-sama, you are a Seal-Master, are you not?"

Jiraiya nodded proudly. "Of course I am, I'm the best Seal-Master ever!" he exclaimed proudly and loudly. "Though you're not too bad you either from what I can see of your work." The middle-aged man indicated the walls covered in sealing-characters and symbols.

"Which reminds me," Naruto started, "How the hell did you manage to enter?"

Jiraiya's eyes twinkled mischievously as he began to wave a single finger back and forth. "Ah-ah-ah. That's for me to know and you to figure out on your own." The toad summoner proudly proclaimed.

Naruto sighed in frustration.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't missed the old coot at all.

"I expect you'll be wanting a report?" Naruto asked politely with far more patience that he actually possessed as he dragged a tired hand through his short hair.

He'd been working far too much since he'd infiltrated the village. First he'd bought the shop and redecorated it. Then he'd crafted a heck of a lot of seals before he'd been able to open it. After that he'd crafted more seals as well as figuring more things out about his blood-limit and finally, he'd done all this while playing a lecherous drunk.

Personally, he thought he was entitled to feeling a bit tired – and maybe even cranky – at the end of the month.

Obviously picking up on Naruto's exhaustion, the middle-aged sennin poured even more liquor into Naruto's untouched cup. "Drink up!" he commanded.

Not bothering to tell his future sensei that the stuff didn't really do anything for him – except taste like shit and make him smell like a bartender – Naruto picked up the cup and downed it in one go. He could appreciate the gesture even if he couldn't appreciate the effects of it.

"I assume it's safe to talk freely here?" Jiraiya asked as he indicated a specific character on one of the walls that governed the sound-barrier of the ward.

"You wouldn't have showed yourself like you did if you didn't believe it to be safe to make some noise," Naruto said in response.

"True," Sandaime's student admitted shamelessly.

Silence governed in the room for some time after that while they both worked to finish off the expensive bottle of liquor. Finally Jiraiya broke the silence. "You forgot to ward the floor and the ceiling. It doesn't affect the sound-barrier you've integrated into the ward, but it does allow for trespassing from the floor and the ceiling." He said as an answer to Naruto's previous enquiry into how the sannin had managed to enter.

"Huh!" Naruto said, completely nonplussed as he regarded the decorated walls and then the clean floor. "Imagine that."

Jiraiya smiled in amusement. "Don't get me wrong, it's a really good job, but the devil's always in the details. How long did you use anyway? You must've had the design done before you even left Konoha."

Naruto blinked in bewilderment. "What? No. I came up with the idea, finished the designs and grafted it in the last six days."

Silence decided that it wanted its throne back.

Naruto scratched the back of his neck before continued when he noticed the awkward pause. "…Well, between all the other things I was doing anyway. You won't believe how demanding the shinobi of this village can be. When I'm not grafting the seals they order, I have to teach them how to handle the merchandise. They don't know anything about security measures or how to activate them or-"

Jiraiya cut him off.

"Are you telling me…" he started in open disbelief, "that you created this ward from scratch and completed it in _under six days?"_ he was completely disbelieving when he finished his question in a high, squeaky voice.

Naruto blinked again, not really sure where his future sensei was going with his line of questioning. "Well…yeah," he said as if it was everyday-work for him.

Jiraiya blinked as he sucked in a controlled breath. Finally he exploded. "What the hell is sensei thinking sending a valuable resource such as yourself into a red-area like this?"

Naruto suddenly remembered how disbelieving Ero-sennin had been when he'd first heard about how Naruto had managed to design and graft the secondary seal to Kyubi's seal in just one year, after only two years of studying sealing.

The white-haired summoner was completely ignorant of Naruto's trip down memory-lane as he continued to rant about his sensei going senile. "You're a genius in sealing and what does the old coot do? He sends you off to get yourself killed in enemy territory. Not only that, but you're supposed to get killed while you service our enemy. He _has_ to be going senile, that's the only explanation. You're _gifted_ for Kami's sake and he sends you off to get killed and-

"…Who the hell are you _really_?"

Naruto blinked at the abrupt silence that filled the room after Jiraiya suddenly stopped his rant. Blinking some more in an attempt to recollect where this conversation really began, Naruto answered with an eloquent "Huh?"

"I know that Yuurei is only a codename," Jiraiya deemed the topic worthy of an explanation. "What I want to know is _who_ you really are? Are you from a clan in Konoha? I don't think I've ever seen you before, though now that I think about it you're obviously in a disguise…" he trailed off, suddenly lost in thought.

Not really willing to prod the visiting shinobi into remembering his line of questioning, Naruto continued with the cleaning he'd started earlier. Throwing away the remains of the broken clay-bowl, Naruto wet and twisted a stained dish-towel in the sink located in the work-room. After cleaning up the ink-spill on the floor he cleaned the towel to the best of his ability before he got the used cups and started to clean them too.

It was at this point that Jiraiya finally came to a startling conclusion. "You're a Ghost!" he exclaimed in barely concealed awe. Then he continued, "Not really a good codename though. Anyone can guess your position when you insist on spelling it out for them."

Naruto twitched as he put the cups back in their correct spot on one of the shelves. "Hokage-sama insisted," he said testily, annoyed at having been figured out that fast and getting blamed for it to boot.

Jiraiya snorted, "Yeah, I can believe _that_".

Realizing how much time they'd been wasting, Naruto decided to get them back on track. He opened a cupboard decorated in a variety symbols and sealing characters. It was the most warded cabinet in the building and nothing short of Naruto's chakra-signature would open it. He'd developed it to be used with the ghost-ring.

Pulling out the scroll containing the sealed Iwa-corpse, Naruto tossed it to the white-haired shinobi sitting by the table. Jiraiya caught it effortlessly as he continued to study Naruto with an intense gaze.

"So, who are you really?" Jiraiya just wouldn't let the question go.

Naruto shook his head slowly. "You don't have the clearance for that. I can't tell you."

Jiraiya pouted. He actually _pouted_. "Fine! Be that way!"

Sighing, Naruto decided to ignore the childish outburst as he began to deliver his oral report. "That scroll is to be delivered directly to the Hokage. None but him will be able to open it. Tell him it has to do with what was stolen from one of the border-posts a month ago. He'll understand and take the necessary measures in dealing with it.

"Other than that there has been little progress in identifying the persons he is seeking." Naruto was being as vague as possible as he didn't know how much Jiraiya knew and was supposed to know. It was bad enough that the wily man had pegged him as a ghost-shinobi.

"The other parts of my mission are in progress, but are not completed. I've infiltrated the village and I'm beginning to obtain casual rapports with the shinobi who are patrons at my shop.

"Security in the village has been tightened. Curfew has been set from nine in the evening 'till six in the morning. All unauthorized personelle and all civilians are to be at their homes during curfew.

"Hostile action has been reported at the border. I haven't yet found out who the instigators are, but from the gossip circling the streets I suspect our allies in the Country of Wind."

Jiraiya nodded gravely as he considered what he'd been told. "Yes, that fits nicely with the other Intel I've managed to glean. You'll have to be extra careful from now on Yuurei-san. According to the latest news I've received from the Hokage-office, Konoha and Suna are now officially at war against Iwa and Kumo. Kiri and the lesser villages are maintaining their neutrality at the moment, but the Hokage fears that they will eventually ally with Iwa and Kumo.

"You're in hostile territory and everyone you encounter are to be considered enemies from this day forth. The Sandaime orders you to continue your mission. He said that time is running out, but Konoha still needs all the information you can give.

"I'll be back to collect your reports on the last day of every month unless I say different. If I miss a meeting I will be there the next month, but if I miss two consecutively assume that I've been killed and disengage from your current mission as your position could very well be compromised."

Jiraiya fished around in his garb a second before he found a small pendant inscribed with a strangely familiar seal that Naruto really felt he should recognize. "Channel chakra into this pendant if you ever need to get a crucial message to Konoha. Be careful not to use it if you are not in a relatively safe area."

Naruto nodded gravely as he accepted the pendant and hung it around his neck. It wouldn't really seem conspicuous for a seal-grafter to carry a good-luck charm so he could safely wear it openly.

"Orders accepted and understood," he said to assure the white-haired sannin that he had no questions and that he understood the situation and the orders he'd received.

He stomach rolled faintly in queasiness.

War.

It was the word of a nightmare, a word that no shinobi wanted to hear. He'd expected it of course, knowing what he did of the future, he'd always known it would happen, but it didn't stop him from whishing it _hadn't_.

Both of them kept silent for a while as the severity of the situation settled over them and Naruto chanced a short glance at the man in front of him.

Jiraiya had already survived _one_ war Naruto thought with a small amount of both pity and admiration. It was in the Second World War that the toad summoner and his team-mates had earned themselves the famous nickname 'the Three Legendary Sannin'. Naruto didn't envy him the experience or the fame.

War was nasty business and even if you survived, it always changed you.

Always.

"I'd better get going," Jiraiya suddenly broke the silence as he stood up.

Naruto nodded as he struggled with the sudden urge to beg the man to stay, or at the very least to let him come with him, "Of course, Jiraiya-sama," Naruto instead said in a too-even voice.

Jiraiya gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder as he saw and understood Naruto's sudden reluctance to be left alone in a hostile environment. "You're doing a great job Yuurei. I've been watching you the whole day and you have the civilians and the shinobi of this village twirled around your finger. They don't suspect anything."

Naruto grinned, forcing a bit of humour into his expression and his voice. "They're hilarious when they think I'll accidentally blow us all up."

Jiraiya chuckled along with him as he began to perform the hand-seals of a summoning technique.

"Just a moment Jiraiya-sama," Naruto suddenly stopped him as something occurred to him. "I should key you into the wards seeing as I'll have the details taken care of by the time you return."

Jiraiya grinned, "Yes," he said. "I think that's a good idea."

Naruto walked over to the door as he fished a small knife out of a pocket. When he reached the door he cut a tiny incision into each of his fingertips before he unexpectedly slammed the wounded hand in to the wall next to the door. At height of the door-handle next to the door – under Naruto's hand – small seals began to appear before they connected to the characters covering the entire wall.

The room lit up in a clear, blue glow as the chakra in Naruto's blood was spread evenly over the walls.

Naruto grunted as he began to sweat in concentration. It was difficult as hell to keep all of the five, small wounds open at once.

Jiraiya obviously took the hint that it was his turn to perform. Stepping confidently up behind Naruto, his fingers began to glow too as he channelled chakra to his fingertips. When he was sure that he'd gotten the amount of charka and his own intent right, he placed his hand directly over Naruto's, letting his own chakra flow through Naruto's fingertips to mingle and be accepted as an additional Master of Naruto's seal.

As soon as the procedure was completed, the lights of the glowing walls went out and despite the electrical light lighting up the room, they both momentarily felt as if someone had turned the light-switch off.

"That was an impressive bit of work." Jiraiya praised Naruto as he flexed his fingers to get the residual chakra from the sealing to flow back into his system.

Naruto grunted as he wiped the small blood-drops from his fingers off on his pants.

"Have you achieved Mastery yet?" the white-haired sannin suddenly asked.

Naruto chuckled tiredly as he shook his head in a negative. "No, I've only studied sealing for three years and my teacher is no longer with me," Naruto answered.

Jiraiya goggled. "Are you serious? Huh! You're even more of a genius than I first thought. The Kami must really value you to have gifted you to the extent that they have."

Naruto blushed, but kept his silence as he didn't really know what to say. He'd never felt that the Kami had ever favoured him before. He'd always figured he was their favourite plaything on account of the whole Kyubi-issue and all.

"Listen," Jiraiya's voice broke through his thoughts as the sannin gave Naruto another reassuring pat on the back. "With what I've seen, you're easily of the Master-calibre already. You only have to learn the standard set of the sealing techniques and you could spend more time thinking through your designs, but your instincts are excellent. I've never met a seal-grafter before who can basically design a seal on the fly as you apparently can.

"Take care of yourself kid and you'll definitely reach far."

Naruto nodded and watched bemusedly as the sannin made his final goodbyes again before he finished the summoning technique he'd started on earlier.

Half of a toad suddenly appeared out of the ground and Naruto finally understood how the resourceful sannin had managed to sneak up on him without a trace.

As ha watched his future sensei disappear – in a seemingly impossible feat – down the toad's throat, the toad disappeared and Naruto suddenly felt inexplicably alone again.

It was a daunting feeling to be trapped in hostile territory with no-one to lean on and trust but yourself and your own abilities.

Naruto didn't sleep too well the rest of the short night.

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**Village of Stone; Shopping district; Main Street; **_**One month and two weeks after infiltrating Iwa;**_** 11:00 GMT.**

Naruto stumbled merrily along the Main Street in the shopping district where he kept his shop. He'd been to one of the merchants to stock up on his supplies and after that he'd been to the liquor store to fill up his personal mini-bar. The last stop on his small shopping frenzy was to the food store, seeing as he'd run out of cup ramen last night.

What happened next was just a series of unfortunate events.

As Naruto turned the corner to enter the last store, he bumped into someone.

He quickly found out that that someone had boobs, so he assumed it to be a girl – or a freakishly devoted cross-dresser. Naruto didn't much care as he was too occupied with the sudden situation and position he found himself in.

Not to mention the _person_ he found himself in the situation and the position _with_.

"Baby!" Naruto exclaimed delightedly. "It's you! Are you finally ready to accept my personal offer of servicing you?"

Most of the people around them on street the ignored the spectacle he was making. They were already far too used to the eccentric – read crazy – seal-grafter that lived and worked down the street. Only a couple of the men stopped to watch the proceedings. The war had picked up pretty quickly after the first attacks and they were eager to get all the entertainment that was available to them.

Naruto straddling a young female shinobi while keeping his balance with the two hands he had conveniently positioned on the woman's breasts was certainly entertainment aplenty for the regular – single – guy. (The girlfriends or spouses would kill their men if they ever caught them watching _this_ particular form of entertainment.)

The female shinobi underneath Naruto stiffened as if she'd been hit with a paralyzing technique.

Naruto grinned brightly at her as he swayed slightly in his position. Consequently he had to tighten his grip to keep from falling over.

The hit connected with his chin before he could even sense the tensing of muscles beneath him.

Naruto had to admire her for that.

He crashed through a store window on the opposing side of the street.

People stopped trying to pretend that they weren't watching the goings-on.

Naruto groaned weakly as he rubbed the back of his head and his chin. The wounds he'd had from crashing through the window were already healed. He'd at least made sure of that before he dared to move.

It wouldn't do for the people of Iwa to realise that he has an advanced blood-limit. This way, he could merely make it seem like he'd been lucky and hit the window at an angle where he'd been able to avoid serious injury.

Coughing lightly to rid himself of the dust that was accumulating in his lungs, Naruto wobbled to his feet just in time to see the furious kunoichi barrel towards him red faced and with a kunai in each of her hands.

_Uh oh…_ Naruto thought.

Stumbling backwards again and tripping over some loose merchandise from the store, Naruto landed hard on his ass. Luckily the ninja had been as unprepared for Naruto's sudden downfall as he himself appeared to be and she literally went flying over his head to end up crashing into a row of magazines.

Naruto momentarily ignored her as he unconcernedly stumbled back onto his feet before he began to look around himself in confusion. His confusion seemed to clear away as he spotted his bags on the opposite side of the street. Smiling happily he began to stumble his way towards it, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process.

Behind him, the female he'd slighted began to stir under numerous pages of smutty magazines specifically restricted to adults.

The crowd that was gathering began to titter and mutter amongst themselves.

Naruto ignored them completely as he bent over to rummage through one of his shopping bags.

The audience excitedly switched heir attention back and forth between Naruto and the rising form of the fuming kunoichi. Some began placing bets.

Naruto cried out in triumph as he managed to pull free a bottle of good, quality liquor.

Some of the males in the audience swore that they saw tears forming in his eyes when the bottle was shattered by a well-aimed kunai.

"I'm going to kill you, you little repulsive ogre!" the incensed female shrieked at a volume fit to shatter glass.

Naruto cringed as he desperately covered his ears with his hands. The sudden movement of weight-displacement in his upper-body resulted in him plopping down on the ground again.

Sometimes, enhanced hearing could be a real hassle to deal with.

Respectable housewives began to gossip amongst themselves about the disgraceful drunk that was roaming the once peaceful streets of Iwagakure.

Naruto wanted to laugh, but he caught himself just in time. He loved being able to get rid of the accumulating stress he was experiencing by freaking out the civilians with his outrageous behaviour.

"Are you listening to me, Ogre?"

At the suddenly close proximity of the pissed-off kunoichi, Naruto jerked his head up in attention to focus on the female towering above him in a text-book performance of intimidating body language.

"Beautiful…" Naruto muttered drunkenly as he stretched a hand waveringly towards her.

And she was.

He estimated her to be eighteen, maybe nineteen years old. She still had the arrogance and the overwhelming self-righteousness the young shinobi possessed, but he could also see the traces of the dedicated and professional ninja she would become in the near future if she wasn't killed before her time.

She had hair the colour of grey and stormy clouds and the colour and ferocity of the storm was mirrored in her eyes. She was a bit short for her age, but not in a disproportioned way and she had curves in _all_ the right places.

An immaculately dressed jounin appeared out of thin air next to the young girl.

"Maruishi-sama, is everything in order? Do you require assistance?" the too proper jounin asked as he kept his head slightly bowed at all times.

Naruto mentally raised an eyebrow in curiosity and interest as he outwardly began to mourn over the glass of his broken bottle.

The young female shinobi seemed to have to shake herself out of a daze as a blush suddenly overtook her tanned features. "Wha-? No. That's fine, I can handle it myself. Just because I'm the daughter of the Tsuchikage does not mean that I can't handle _one_ lousy drunkard. Tell my father that and also tell him that he has _got_ to stop having me followed around all the time. I'm a chuunin now and I can look after myself. In addition to that we don't have the resources to waste now that we're at war."

The jounin bowed stiffly before he disappeared. "As you command Maruishi-sama."

Wheels began to turn in Naruto's mind as he covertly regarded the apparent daughter of the Tsuchikage and the blush she'd momentarily sported.

An idea began to take form.

"You broke my bottle!" Naruto accused mournfully as he cradled the broken pieces of glass carefully.

The grey-haired female snapped to attention at his voice. "Oh, grow up! Ogre." With that said, she sniffed and began to turn around to leave.

"If you buy me a new one, I'll graft a seal for you free of charge." Naruto called after her as he wobbled himself up and to his feet. He swayed backwards suddenly and had to wave his hand like a pair of windmills to regain his balance again.

The kunoichi stopped in her retreat before she turned to regard him with suspicious eyes. "Any kind of seal?" She wheedled.

Naruto nodded happily as a wide smile broke over his face. "Any kind I know how to make at least," he promised.

She regarded him suspiciously for another moment before she nodded decisively once.

"Very well."

Naruto mentally cackled in glee.

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A/N: I've been getting too many questions to answer them at the end of each chapter. Instead I'll do my best to answer each review I get. If I get many similar questions, I'll put up an FAQ.

Many thanks to my beta Tsurai no Shi. She's doing a great job and any mistakes you find are all my fault.

The next couple of updates will probably be very irregular but I _will_ update.


	9. Complications

Chapter 8.

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**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop; **_**One month and three weeks after infiltrating Iwa; **_**18:00 GMT.**

"So…" the young female ninja now fully introduced as Maruishi Hari wheedled as she leaned over the counter in Naruto's shop. "What exactly are you doing?"

Naruto tried very hard to ignore the fact that he now had a very good angle to look down Hari's impressive cleavage. Having known the girl for approximately one whole week now, he knew far too well that any form of lecherous behaviour would be rewarded with bodily harm.

"I've already told you," he said in light exasperation as he shuffled through a huge mound of papers that he'd never gotten around to organize. "I'm looking for the sheet of paper where I wrote down all the information you provided me with."

He absently stretched his right hand out to make a grab for the bottle of liquor that had been left on the edge of the counter, but she quickly slapped the hand away.

"I've told you Ogre; no drinking when I'm within a hundred feet of you."

Naruto sighed mournfully as he gave her a begging look with soulful eyes. "But-!"

"No!" she said again, this time with a lot more force. "I'll not have you getting drunk in my presence. You're bad enough sober."

"But-" Naruto tried again.

"No." She interrupted him.

"If-"

"No."

"Only a sip?"

"No."

"Aww…" Naruto finally whined as he gave up.

At his childish display, Hari quirked her lips in mild amusement.

"You're looking for the paper where you wrote down my personality traits?" she asked, both to clarify his earlier answer and to get them back to the matter at hand.

"Yes," he said dejectedly as he cradled his head in his hands, acting as if a headache was starting up.

"Then why the hell are you looking for the paper? Just ask the stupid questions again." She said as she straightened and folded her hands under her impressive breasts.

Naruto raised his head in a painful display of confusion. "I can do that?"

She snorted, "Of course you can you numbskull."

Naruto grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

After their second encounter on the Main Street a week ago, Hari had been visiting Naruto's shop regularly. The seal she'd demanded as payment for the bottle of liquor she'd broken was a personal summoning contract.

It was an outrageous request and they both knew it. Naruto didn't mind at all though, since all the time they had to spend together to fulfil her request played nicely into his own plans.

The creation of a personal summoning contract was divided into three different levels of progress.

At the first level, the grafter and the receiver had to spend a lot of time together in order for the grafter to get to know the receiver's personality inside-out. This was needed for the grafter to be able to find the perfect animal for the receiver to summon.

Personalized summoning contracts were different from the summoning contracts used by for example the three legendary sannin. The contracts of the sannin could be passed down to other people and more than _one_ person could hold the summoning contract at the same time. In addition to that, the Grand Summons – which were what the sannin possessed – essentially help more brute power than Personalized Summons. They had a great variation of summons to pick from and could be adapted to many different styles of fighting.

Personalized contracts, while not exactly weak, were specialized for only _one_ person's use. Naruto had long suspected that Kakashi's contract with the summoned nin-dogs was a personalized contract. The fact that Personalized Summons were _personalized_ was the actual strength and ingenuity of the contracts. They were made especially for _one_ person's use and for _one_ person's fighting style. With enough use and training with the summoned animals, a holder of such a contract could become as good as unbeatable.

The weakness of the Grand Summons was the fact that the summoners rarely mastered their contract. They didn't have the time to get to know all of their summons and distrust and personality-clashes between the summoner and the summons could very well prove just as dangerous as the enemies they would be fighting together against.

Personalized contracts lacked this problem and with enough time and training invested, the summoner and the summons would essentially become _one_ well-trained and deadly entity. There even existed rumours of people who had achieved telepathic bonds with their chosen animals.

The second level of creating the contract involved making the actual design of the contract and the grafting of the summoning-seal. This part of the process wasn't nearly as time-demanding as the first part, but it too needed to be paced. It was important that Naruto didn't make any mistakes while designing and grafting the contract, or it could very well be the death of the both of them. Summoning contracts were some of the most volatile seals to be grafted since they essentially dealt with creating bonds across dimensions and opening stable temporary tears in the fabric of reality.

The third and the last level of the process was the easiest as far as Naruto was concerned. It dealt with the first activation of the contract and the creation and stabilization of the bond between summoner and the summons. It should be as easy as melting snow in hell.

At this point in time, Hari had been dropping by Naruto's shop as often as her work allowed in the interest of letting Naruto get to know her properly. Already the first day Naruto had managed to get her to write down the personality-traits that she identified herself with. This was only the first step in the time-consuming task of peeling back the imaginary layers what made a person tick.

Having Hari write down how she saw herself opened up for the opportunity for Naruto to see how her own view differed from his own. After that, he'd begin to ask her about hypothetical situations that she might encounter in her daily life, be they personal or work-related. This would give him further insight into her personality that she might not even be aware of herself. It all depended upon which answers she gave to each situation.

Naruto's goal was build up first a casual rapport with the girl in the hopes of getting her to trust him enough to maybe tell him even more about the _actual_ situations and experiences she went through in life.

Getting the Tsuchikage's daughter to trust him enough to reveal military and restricted information to him would be invaluable for Naruto's mission. He knew from his experience with Sarutobi, Tsunade and Gaara that the leaders of the hidden villages often confided in trusted friends and blood-relatives even if it was strictly against regulations – and rules.

If everything worked out according to plan, he'd have a spy planted in the Tsuchikage's office and the spy wouldn't even know about it.

"Great!" Naruto enthused as he found a blank paper that he could use to write down the questions and answers he'd get from interviewing the young kunoichi again.

"So…what's your favourite colour?" he asked while giving the young woman an intense stare.

The kunoichi sighed heavily as she rolled her eyes in exasperation. "…Brown," she answered eventually.

Naruto nodded energetically as he began to write down the question and the answer with precise and careful strokes. The tongue sticking out of his mouth was a testament to all the concentration he was using to complete the simple task.

Hari sighed again.

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**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop; **_**Two months after infiltrating Iwa; **_**22:07 GMT.**

"So, how are you holding up?"

Naruto looked up from the seal he was designing to meet the dark eyes of his future mentor.

He wasn't too surprised at the sudden intrusion in his workroom _this_ time – a month had gone by since the last time after all, but he was still grateful that he hadn't been doing anything more volatile than essentially doodling some weird characters on a piece of paper.

Straightening from his position, Naruto cracked his neck to get some of the built up tension in his muscles to disperse. After that he eyed the white-haired sannin with calculating eyes. He was relatively sure that the person in front of him was Jiraiya, but in times like these you could never be too sure.

"How's my pet doing?" he asked instead of answering the question.

Jiraiya smirked, "The Daimyo's wife kidnapped it and is now keeping it at ransom."

Naruto smiled an easy greeting as the identity of his visitor was confirmed. They had agreed to change the pass-phrase for each visit.

"I've been better," he said in answer to the original question. "…But then again, I've been worse too so I can't really complain."

Jiraiya chuckled as he took a seat on the table, "Yeah, I know the feeling. Count your blessings, right?"

"Right." Naruto confirmed as he rolled up the piece of paper he'd been doodling on. "I think the worst is over for now seeing as I've been here two months now. I've kind of gotten used to the situation and the new environment."

The toad summoner nodded, "Yes, the first two months have always been reported to be the worst by the people that have been assigned undercover missions. It's a transition…" he trailed off.

"Yeah," Naruto sighed noncommittally as he rubbed the back of his neck. "How are things back home?"

"Bad, but not as bad as it will develop to become if this conflict isn't cleared up soon," Jiraiya said as he picked up the nearly full bottle of liquor that Naruto had left out on the table from what was now a well ingrained habit. "Do you mind?" he asked as he waved the bottle around a bit.

"No, go ahead," Naruto answered immediately, too surprised by the fact that Jiraiya actually asked permission for once to drink anybody's booze.

Jiraiya smiled crookedly in thanks as he pulled the cork free with his teeth. After taking a quick swig he continued, "The unrest is escalating by the borders of the lesser countries. They're basically being forced into the war on account of being caught between the proverbial rock and anvil. As I said last time most of them are predisposed to siding with Iwa and Kumo seeing as the countries have traded together for years now.

"Konoha only has a trade-agreement with Suna though, seeing as we pretty much produce what we need ourselves. What we don't produce – weapons and minerals and stuff like that – we get from Suna."

"I thought Suna were still bitter at Konoha from the last war?" Naruto broke into the conversation.

Jiraiya stopped as he rubbed his head in thought. "Well…yeah, I guess. Still, they won't break their alliance with Konoha _now_. They _need_ the trade and the man-power we can contribute with in the war. Suna gets nearly all its food from Konoha and they've been rivals with Iwa since the village was founded.

"Iwa and Suna produce the same materials for sale and trade you see. They're economic rivals of the worst sort." Jiraiya explained for Naruto's benefit.

Naruto nodded in contemplation as he stared vacantly at a point beyond the closed door. "Anything else?" he finally asked.

Jiraiya rubbed his yaw in thought. "Well, it doesn't really pertain to your situation or anything, but since it's good news I think you deserve to know."

Naruto turned his full attention on Jiraiya. He'd do anything for some good news in all the bad that was happening now.

"You may not know this-," Jiraiya started as he took another swig of alcohol, "-but Namikaze Minato's fiancé is originally from the Land of Whirlpool. She was sent to Konoha a couple of years ago in an attempt to strengthen the bonds between Uzu and Ho. Originally she was sent to live with the Daimyo of Fire Country, but she was as stubborn as they come and she insisted on joining the shinobi forces in Konoha.

"If I remember correctly it caused something of a scandal. She's related to the Daimyo in Whirlpool you see – however distant – and the plan was to marry her off to some random noble's son in Fire Country." Jiraiya started to laugh loudly, "She didn't like that at all.

"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that the effort of tying the two lands closer together seems to have worked in the end. Uzu are willing to side with Ho in the war and they will be providing us with the money for food and other wares if we run out during the war. In return, Konoha will return the favour by sending shinobi off to help in defending the country if Mizu ever decides to join the war-effort on Iwa's and Kumo's side."

Naruto nodded in thought once again as he took in everything he'd heard. He was somewhat surprised to learn of a country named Whirlpool seeing as he'd never heard of it before, but then he shrugged it off. He hadn't known about the Land of the Waves before his first C-rank mission either. Maybe Uzu was just really small.

He decided to ask just to be on the safe side.

"Uzu's not a big country is it?" He prodded the white-haired sannin.

Jiraiya blinked in bewilderment before he finally answered. "Oh, Heavens no," he said, "it's really small, but it produces a lot of pearls so it's really wealthy …which is why it's dependent on help in defending itself. It doesn't have the manpower or the expertise to fight in a war, but it does have a natural resource that other countries would be willing to kill for.

"It wouldn't surprise me if Iwa and Kumo decide to attack the country even without the alliance of Mizu. During a war, the countries need as much money as they can get their hands on and Uzu would really help in filling up the coffers of the attacking countries."

Naruto sighed heavily, his thoughts spinning.

From what he knew of the future, there was a really big chance that Uzu would be destroyed in the war. At the thought of Kushina's fiery spirit and unexpected friendship, he really didn't want her to suffer through the loss of her country.

On the other hand, there wasn't a lot he could do about it, stuck as he was in hostile territory. Still, though…

"The Hokage hasn't dispatched shinobi to the Land of Whirlpool yet?" he enquired.

Jiraiya shook his head. "No, he's aware of the risks in letting the country sit undefended, but at the moment his hands are tied in the matter. The majority of the Council is holding him back. Uzu is located in the direction of Mizu, you see. They're afraid that sending forces to the country _now_ will result in Mizu interpreting it as a hostile action against _them_. In the end it would only serve to seal the alliance between Iwa, Kumo and Mizu.

"As long as Mizu stays neutral, Konoha can't afford to send any forces in their direction in the event that it may be interpreted as hostile."

Naruto nodded again as he saw the logic and the helplessness of the situation. He pitied Uzu then…it seemed the country was a lost cause no matter what happened.

"Here, you look like you could use a little pick-me-up," Jiraiya said as he waved the bottle underneath Naruto's nose. "Jeeze, and I was trying to give you some good news…seems like nothing's good about a war once you get down to it."

Naruto let a small smile cross his face as he accepted the bottle, "Thanks," he said silently before he took a sip.

Jiraiya watched him pensively for a moment before he decided to get back to the reason he was there, "So, anything to report on your front?"

Swallowing quickly, Naruto shook his head, "No, not much. I've managed to establish somewhat regular contact with the daughter of the Tsuchikage. She's ordered a personalized summoning and has been spending time here in order for me to get to know her."

Jiraiya gave Naruto a scrutinizing look, "And how is that working out?"

Laughing somewhat nervously, Naruto shrugged as he rubbed his neck sheepishly. "Well… as well as can be expected considering it's my first attempt at grafting a summoning contract."

Jiraiya's eyebrow rose, "You've never done it before?"

Shaking his head, Naruto answered, "No, but my old teacher went over the theory with me and I was reading up on it before I left for my mission."

Sighing in exasperation, Jiraiya snatched back the bottle and took a swig. "Just be careful when you venture into the astral-realm…" he muttered as a warning.

Chuckling nervously again, Naruto only nodded, "Hai hai, I'll be careful."

It was part of the first task in developing the contract. When he'd gotten to know Hari as much as possible he'd have to venture into the astral-realm – the space separating and connecting all of the existing dimensions – where he'd search for the summoning Naruto believed to fit the girl best. The summons would then – hopefully – agree to a contract with the girl.

Fixing Naruto with a sudden scrutinizing look, Jiraiya finally asked, "You do know how to enter into the astral-realm, right?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, because of certain circumstances in my childhood I had to learn deep meditation early on," he answered as he thought of being a jinchuuriki.

In addition to learning how to check up on Yondaime's seal, it had been imperative for him to learn how to meditate when they'd realized how quickly he could loose control while using the Kyubi's tails. Meditation had been an attempt to gain better control of his own emotions while in a battle. It had worked to an extent. He'd become more level-headed when he fought without using the Kyubi's chakra, but it hadn't done anything for those instances when he _did - _which was why he'd ultimately decided to graft the secondary seal to instantly stabilize and convert any of the demon's excess chakra.

"As I understand it," Naruto continued, "It's only a matter of breaking through the barriers of the mindscape and then enter into the astral-plane."

Jiraiya scoffed. "That's a gross simplification of the process. You'll also have to keep yourself linked to this realm and your own dreamscape at the same time while you're wandering the astral-realm. In addition to that, you may very well need some sort of spiritual protection while traversing the astral-plane. There may be dangers there greater than what you can find in your worst nightmares."

Naruto had to force himself not to scoff or laugh out loud at that as he thought of the great demon fox sealed in his abdomen. "You know… I very much doubt that." He settled for saying.

Sensing that Yuurei had some bad memories connected to the topic of the conversation, Jiraiya decided to let the matter rest for now. If the – seemingly – young spy was so certain about his own capabilities, Jiraiya really didn't wish to dispel any of his illusions. He'd warned him. As a ninja, that should be enough.

"I am a bit wary though of how you plan to use the Tsuchikage's daughter." Jiraiya confessed as he changed the subject.

"Oh?"

"Don't get me wrong Yuurei-san," he quickly rushed to explain. "It's a brilliant plan. I'll give you that. It's just…" he trailed off as he tried to find the correct words to explain his wariness of Naruto's plan.

"It's just?" Naruto prodded.

"You realize the great risk you are taking?" the white-haired sannin finally asked. "I'm not talking about the risk of being found out either," he quickly clarified. "It's just… when you are as isolated as you are on this mission; it's easy for a guy to…"

Naruto frowned lightly as he began to catch on to what his future mentor was trying to warn him about. "You are afraid that I'll grow attached to the girl?" Naruto asked.

Jiraiya nodded. "I've seen it happen a dozen times with shinobi on long-term infiltration and spying missions. Cut off from all that they find familiar and safe, it's easy to form new bonds with the people that are conveniently around. After some time, they even seem to forget that they're essentially consorting with the enemy. Some have ended up deserters because they couldn't bear to betray the new life they'd made."

Naruto's frown deepened, "We are shinobi and we have been trained for situations and missions such as these."

Jiraiya nodded again, "Oh, I know that. It's just that training and the real-life experience are quite different."

Seeing that he wouldn't be able to reassure his future mentor on this subject, Naruto sighed quietly in resignation. "I'll keep your warning in mind." It was the only concession he could allow himself to give considering the fact that he knew that Jiraiya had a very valid point.

He was perfectly aware of his own tendency to grow attached to everything and everyone that were willing to give him the time of the day. He'd gotten better over the years in seeing underneath the underneath in situations and he'd lost some of his naivety after his dealings with Orochimaru, Sasuke and the Akatsuki, but he was still desperate for some form of kind and positive acknowledgement.

Jiraiya's eyes sharpened as they figuratively pierced through him, "You have to do more than keep it in mind. If necessary, start and end your day by warning yourself of the danger you're in. In your situation, people wanting to kill you are a less valid concern than those that shower you with kindness and compliments. The fact that you're actually _trying_ to get to know this girl only makes it worse. Quite frankly it would have been better for yourself if you hadn't met her at all, but I can see how getting close to her will be helpful to your mission, so I can't order you to do otherwise. Just… just be careful."

Naruto nodded seriously, "I promise."

0101010101

**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop; **_**Approximately three months after infiltrating Iwa; **_**10:34 GMT.**

Hari stared pensively at the bottle of liquor positioned innocently in front of her on the counter in Naruto's shop.

"Ne, Inu?"

"Hmm?" Naruto responded with a vague hum as he looked over the sealing scroll in his hands. His tongue was sticking out of his mouth in what could be called a cute fashion as he scrutinized the characters on the scroll for any mistakes.

"How come you can manage to work with seals when you're as sloshed as you often are?" she asked, never taking her eyes off the half-empty bottle.

Naruto chuckled light-heartedly as he stretched over to pick up the bottle and take a hearty swig out of it. Contrary to what she'd done in the past, she did nothing to stop him now, having learnt through trial and error that ultimately nothing would be able to keep Naruto from drinking while he worked.

"'S a secret," he slurred happily as he felt the fire from the liquid burn down his throat.

"Aw… c'mon! I've told you plenty of my secrets in the month we've known each other," she complained loudly as she suddenly snagged the bottle away from Naruto's mouth in a fit of childish frustration.

At the unexpected loss of his alcohol, Naruto began to cough violently when he swallowed the liquid he'd had in his mouth wrong.

When he finally caught his breath again, Naruto glared blearily up at the kunoichi before he deftly rolled the scroll closed with a sharp snap.

He staggered to his feet and turned around to place the scroll in a shelf behind him that was reserved for scrolls he had for sale. He'd added a whole lot of shelves in the actual shop that contained all the seals he'd finished and that were up for sale to the public. The scrolls kept in the shop-proper were the less dangerous ones and even the worst seal-grafters knew how to make them so he wouldn't loose any of his secrets if they were stolen.

Not that anyone would dare stealing from him. He was far too popular in the shinobi-circles to be stolen from. The shinobi treasured his cervices and did their best to make sure that he had everything he could ask for, both when it came to supplies and when it concerned security.

The more dangerous seals were still locked up in the workroom just in case though.

"Secrets?" Naruto taunted as he turned back to regard the grey-haired kunoichi with a lopsided smirk. "Those weren't secrets. They were only titbits about your personality that I need to know in order to graft a seal _you_ ordered," he said.

Hari pouted cutely, but she didn't give up. "So? It's still valid information about me that an enemy might misuse against me."

Naruto snorted as he walked unsteadily towards her. When he deemed himself close enough, he flung himself over the desk in order to attempt to capture his bottle again. Unfortunately, he seemingly misjudged the distance and as a result he fell completely over the desk and landed in the lap of a now brightly blushing kunoichi. The stool she was perched on began to tip over and Naruto cried out in dismay when he saw that his bottle was about to meet the very hard and unforgiving floor. He flung himself towards the bottle again and barely managed to catch it. His sudden movement had only worsened the precarious balance of the stool though and the both of them crashed to the floor, Naruto cushioned with his face between Hari's legs.

"Now _this_ seems familiar," he crowed out in delight.

Hari's blush worsened, but Naruto wasn't yet certain if it was out of anger or out of embarrassment.

"You-!"

The rising voice of the beauty underneath him, quickly tipped him off to anger being the concern he had to deal with at the moment. Quickly too, preferably… if he wanted to keep his balls.

The woman took things like this far too seriously according to Naruto's opinion and sensibility and he'd made it his mission to loosen her up before he had to leave the village in an unknown amount of time.

"Just wait a second!" he cut her off before she could really get going.

In surprise at his audacity, she actually stilled as he took his time to tip the bottle and drain the rest of the contents.

"Now," he said as he saw that she was about to explode in anger. He burped right after just because he could and then he continued with the conversation they'd had before his little flight across the counter. "I don't really think the enemy will be able to use the fact that you love telling old legends against you in a battle."

Hari's brows furrowed as her thoughts were derailed at the sudden change in subject. She was so flummoxed that she even forgot the scandalous position they found themselves in.

"No, but they _will_ exploit the fact that I'm aggressive and quick to anger." She argued reasonably.

Naruto lifted one of the hands he'd had on her hips to negligently flip it in disregard. "Pish-posh! You are aware of that weakness and so you're unlikely to fall for any attempts to rile you up in a serious battle"

Hari sighed, "And what about the fact that I have an affinity for the earth element? My enemies would _love_ to know that."

"Nearly all the nin in Iwa have an affinity for earth," Naruto argued right back.

Hari's brows furrowed further as she tried to think of another argument. She had just opened her mouth to retaliate when the bell to the door jingled, signalling that someone were entering the store.

The young daughter of the Tsuchikage suddenly remembered the position she was in with the notorious lecherous seal-grafter and as a result she froze.

Naruto – possessing no shame at all – craned his face up from its position in between the girl's crotch to wave merrily at the new arrival.

"Hi, can I help you with anything?"

Hari began to tremble in anger underneath Naruto's form and the newly arrived jounin immediately picked up on the building killing-intent in the air. He wisely decided to retreat and come back later, provided the shop-owner was still alive when he returned. "Uh… no that's fine," he excused himself as he began to back out the door. "I must have taken a wrong turn…" he trailed off with a high-pitched squeak and hightailed it out the door when the killer-intent began to manifest visually.

Naruto pouted as the doorbell jingled when the door shut.

"Do you have to scare away all of my customers?" he asked in a childish voice as he complained at her hostile behaviour.

The shop began to tremble.

"It's not only your ability to graft seals under the influence," Hari started when the commotion they'd been causing had finally died down – with a lot of painful squeals from Naruto.

"Oh?" Naruto prodded nonchalantly as he rubbed a fading bruise on the back of his head. In a really detached way – totally not apprehensive, really – Naruto wondered where she was headed with the current conversation.

"No," Hari continued, completely oblivious to Naruto's rising tension and worry. "It's the way you don't even seem affected by the killer-intent I throw out too. There're so many things about you that I just can't explain…" she trailed off as she pondered the man that had been on her mind far too often lately.

"Oh, that!" Naruto tried to seem totally carefree and unaffected as he rummaged around in the drawer of his counter for a new bottle of booze. "It's because of my bastard of a father," he started to explain energetically as he opened his new prize with a small pop of displaced air. "Well… he wasn't really my father, but my sister's uncle's mother's son, who lived with us for a period of time when I liked to go out fishing with my-"

He cut off abruptly as Hari grabbed his chin in a firm grip. She turned his head to face her and when she had his complete attention, she spoke levelly, "Quit shitting me! Can't you just tell me the truth for once?"

Naruto blinked in apprehension and no little amount of fear at being found out as he stuttered a reply, "I-"

She cut him off before he could really get started. "Look, I know you're only acting carefree most of the time and I don't really care about that, but I worry about you."

Naruto blinked, completely bewildered at the turn of events.

"Huh?"

She ignored him completely as she continued to forge on. "All this drinking... and you not being affected by my killer-intent… something terrible obviously happened to you when you were younger and I… I just… It's the only explanation for how reckless and fearless you are.

"You've obviously experienced something so terrible that you're running from it even now. What with the drinking and all…

"And you don't care about my killing intent because you're challenging death everyday with the stunts you pull. I mean honestly! Grafting seals under the influence? You've _got_ to have a death-wish! You-"

Naruto's thoughts were racing as he kept her from talking anymore with the hand he'd placed over her mouth. She'd stopped rambling, but she was still looking intently at him, attempting to peel back all the layers and all the shields he'd placed around his identity and heart.

"You're worried about me?" it seemed as good a question to ask as anything else when he finally got his mouth to work correctly.

She kept his gaze as she nodded severely at him.

_Fuck!_ Naruto's thoughts screamed. _Ero-sennin _warned _you. He warned you something like this would happen._ Though, to be completely honest, the old man had probably thought _Naruto_ would be the one to grow attached, not _Hari_.

_Fuck!_

Naruto tore himself out of the kunoichi's grip as he stumbled backwards frantically. He could not let this happen. He could not let her grow too attached, because if she did, it would be doubly as hard for him to continue deceiving and using her. He'd never liked the betraying part of the shinobi-occupation and if she cared about him… If she started to genuinely _care_ then there was no _way_ he could stay unaffected.

He should break all connections to her right now. He should tell her something awful that would make her hate him. He should…

…But he _couldn't_.

There was a war going on and all that he loved about and in Konoha was at risk. He was shinobi, a _jounin_ of Konohagakure – though he was currently the only one who knew _that_ – and he had a responsibility to his nation.

Complete the mission.

That was what they'd learned. It was what had been drilled into him since his academy days.

Protect your comrades and complete the mission. All else was secondary.

"Inu?" Hari's questioning voice broke through his muddled and panicked thoughts and he focused agitated eyes on her.

The young kunoichi raised her hands in a universally known sign of showing that she was unarmed and bore no ill intensions. "Inu, listen! I-"

When she took a step towards him, he scrambled backwards until he was stopped by the solidity of the wall. She stopped advancing.

Hari dropped her hands to her side with a sad expression flittering over her face as she regarded his posture and his body language. It was obvious that he didn't want her anywhere near her at the moment as Naruto had decided to play on her previous misconceptions concerning his past in an attempt to buy time to get his own thought straightened out.

Sighing in defeat, Hari turned towards the door. "I shouldn't have brought it up," she said, "It was too soon and I don't know you well enough yet. I'll just…" she gestured weakly to the door and when Naruto didn't say anything, she sighed heavily again.

"I'm leaving for a mission along the border," she said as she stopped with her hand on the door handle. "I don't know how long it'll last, but I'll probably be gone for at least a week."

She turned to give him a lasting once over. "I just wanted you to know… I'll come back when I've completed the mission and I won't mention anything about your past again so don't worry. I hope… I hope that's okay with you?"

Not one to miss such an obvious need for some reassurance, Naruto gave a slight nod as he forced himself to smile a grimace at her. "That's fine. I overreacted and I still have to graft that contract you commissioned from me."

Relieved at his positive reply, she smiled brightly before she let herself out the door.

Naruto sank to the floor with a tired sigh when she'd finally left. He kept his eyes pensively on the door until the jounin from earlier finally returned to do some business. He took one look at Naruto before he attempted to break the stillness in the shop with some humour, "She really let you have it this time, huh?"

Naruto chuckled weakly as he pushed himself to his feet with the smallest of staggers.

"Yeah," he said with a wider grin, "she really dislikes it when I drink at work."

The jounin nodded sagely, far too aware of how uncomfortable all the shinobi were of the seal-grafter's drink- and work-ethics. He couldn't quite hide the wince that escaped when the enigmatic seal-grafter immediately went for the bottle of liquor that lay discarded on the floor of the shop.

0101010101

**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop;**_** Four months after infiltrating Iwa; **_**23:00 GMT.**

"And does she suspect anything?"

Naruto shook his head negatively to Jiraiya's question.

He'd been in Iwa for four months now and it had been one month since the disastrous scene with the Tsuchikage's daughter.

They're dealings had been strained after she'd returned from her mission by the border, but they'd slowly managed to get back to a somewhat carefree friendship again. Ultimately, Naruto had resolved that he would stick to fulfilling his mission, but he'd do his best to make sure that the relationship he had with the young Iwa-nin didn't develop into anything more than what was considered platonic.

"No, she hasn't mentioned anything after she came back, but from what I gathered she only thought I'd had a bad experience in my youth. She doesn't suspect me of being unaffected by her killer-intent as a result of being a trained shinobi."

Jiraiya nodded as he gruffly answered, "Well, that's something I guess. Do you believe others may see through your cover?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, she's the only one I've been spending a significant amount of time with. As such, she's the only one close enough to suspect anything and what she suspects is completely off so…"

Jiraiya nodded in relief, "Nothing to worry about."

Silence settled over the workroom as they both took their time to gather their thoughts.

"The Hokage has a new objective to add to your mission," the white-haired sannin finally said, obviously reluctantly to bring up the subject.

Naruto's eyebrows rose incredulously as he mentally began to doubt the Sandaime's remaining sanity. He already had enough on his agenda to worry about, he really didn't need more.

"Oh? And what might that order be?" he asked in a carefully nonchalant voice as he gave the toad summoner a sidelong look.

"He wants you to infiltrate the Tsuchikage's office and search for any pertinent information concerning the war. The work you're doing with his daughter is much appreciated and he wants you to continue, but it's also taking too long. We're in desperate need of new information about the enemy's plans."

Naruto choked in shock.

It was official: the Sandaime had gone off the deep end.

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A/N: Hmm... the plot thickens. Poor Naruto, he just can't get a break.

Finally, to all you anon. reviewers; Thank you all for reviewing. I'm regretful to say that I won't be answering any of your questions unless you leave a mail-adress for me to reply on. Too much space has been used on Q&As in the past chapters.

Someone requested a timeline for the story at the end of each chapter. I have a very crude timeline written up in order to better remember the plot I'm intending to follow. At this point in time though, I'll stick to outlining some sort of timeline like I've done in this chapter with writing how long Naruto has spent in Iwa... after that I'll probably find some other way to measure the time (like how long he's spent back in Konoha and so on and so forth...).

'Till next time then.  
Eleature


	10. Charades

Chapter 9.

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**Village of Stone; Near the Main Administration; **_**Approximately six months after infiltrating Iwa; **_**19:50 local time.**

Naruto fidgeted slightly with the standard, armoured Iwa vest he was wearing. It was both slimmer and lighter than the vests issued in Konoha and it lacked any armour to protect the neck. Naruto very much doubted the Iwa vests would be able to withstand the same kind of force as Konoha's vests.

He could understand Iwa's logic in focusing on mobility with the armour they issued. Iwa specialized with earth jutsu – techniques nearly completely developed for defence – and they were generally better off relying on their own techniques when it came to deflecting blunt force trauma. Iwa's vests were therefore developed in the interest of deflecting the minor force behind bladed weapons in close combat.

The light weight of the vest was unnerving to Naruto. In the few instances he'd worn Konoha's vests he'd grown used to the reassuring weight and bulk of the armoured garment. Besides, it wasn't as if Naruto had the ability or even the knowledge on how to pull off Iwa's infamous defensive techniques.

Naruto mentally prayed that the vest wouldn't be put to the test on the mission he was currently undertaking.

As he approached the building where the Tsuchikage kept office Naruto constantly had to force himself to remain relaxed. Any tensing of his muscles would seem suspicious to the shinobi he passed.

He'd spent the last two months preparing and planning for the latest mission he'd received from the Sandaime. It had taken patience Naruto didn't even know he possessed before he deemed himself as prepared as he could possibly be before he instigated the mission.

In the last two months he'd spent most of that time observing the higher ranked shinobi in the village – with special focus on jounin. He'd taken to eating lunch at restaurants that provided a good view to the streets most used by Iwa-nin. All of the time he'd spent on stakeout had been in order to find a jounin he could impersonate when he ventured out on his mission.

The jounin would have to have a build very similar to Naruto's own seeing as Naruto wasn't yet capable of changing much else but his face and his hair. He'd certainly be caught if he picked a target that was too fat, too tall, too muscular or too thin. Shinobi were above all observant and they were bound to notice if one of their colleagues suddenly changed height or body-girth overnight.

When he'd finally found a suitable target after a week of observation, he'd continued on to basically stalking the jounin day in and day out until he could figure out all of the nin's habits and manners. It was the most difficult task he'd ever attempted to do before and he'd praised himself lucky for his messed up coils, seeing as he'd had no chance at all to hide from the nin's senses if his chakra hadn't been screwed up and bound to the limits of his body.

Getting to know his target inside out had been where the testing of his patience had begun to matter. He could never have imagined how boring it would be to follow an elite shinobi around all day long.

Luckily for Naruto – or unluckily if you wanted to save yourself from boredom – the shinobi he'd picked as a target was one of the few elite shinobi that dealt with paperwork – normally paperwork was reserved for the Kage, the Council and the chuunin. In effect this meant that Naruto didn't have to worry about his target up and leaving on a sudden mission. That was the positive side. The negative side was that Naruto bored himself to _death_ while stalking the guy.

The targeted jounin were one of the higher-ranked shinobi that had been tasked with messenger duty by the Kage. The messages he transported from the Kage's office to who-knows-where were only of the most classified sort – which explained why only a highly ranked shinobi was allowed to handle them.

Naruto couldn't believe his luck when he'd figured _that_ out. The answer to his highly dangerous and nigh impossible mission had basically landed in his lap by chance.

While getting to know the nin's habits inside out, Naruto had also had to devote time to figuring out the military procedures of the Iwa-nin. This included possible pass-phrases and the ways they saluted. It also included where shinobi normally ventured in the village and how the normally travelled. They didn't use the roofs like the shinobi in Konoha when they needed to get somewhere fast. Rather, they used underground passages that stretched through the entire village. Naruto presumed they'd been made over time by some sort of earth jutsu and he'd been quick to let Jiraiya know of _that_ particularity when they finally met up again.

Mentally he shivered. The possible repercussions of the underground network of tunnels were endless. On one hand, it could be advantageous for Konoha if they ever needed a way to sneak into the village – provided that the tunnels weren't trapped of course. It would be very easy for the Iwa-nin to purposely collapse part of the tunnel-system if they ever discovered intruders there. For Konoha, using the tunnels to infiltrate the village in force would be a double-edged blade.

On the other hand, the tunnels provided the Iwa-nin with a great tactical advantage if enemies ever tried to attack the village above ground. It would result in slaughter for Iwa's enemies. The tunnel-system was built like a maze and it provided access to any given part of the village. This would enable the Iwa-nin to use the tunnels to sneak up on enemies in the village and take them out before the opposing force had even realised that they'd been discovered.

Naruto couldn't express how happy he'd been to discover the well-kept secret of the tunnel-system. Now he'd been able to warn the Hokage and possibly averted a massacre if the Sandaime had ever decided to attack Iwa's village head on.

"Good morning Daichi-san," the receptionist greeted when she saw Naruto entering the administration building.

Naruto grunted noncommittally as he accepted the form that was handed to him. All visitors to the tower had to sign off on the form if they wanted to access further levels than the reception-area.

He'd studied his target's signature intently for this purpose and he signed the form perfectly, if perhaps a bit slower than what 'Daichi-san' would've done.

"The Tsuchikage is expecting you," the woman smiled a fake smile as he accepted the form back. She let her eyes scan briefly over the new signature before she pointed absently in the direction of a door. "You know the way," she said.

Naruto didn't even bother with a reply as he turned briskly from the desk to head in the direction of the door she'd indicated. From his observation of 'Daichi-san', the guy was a frigid arrogant ass. Naruto hadn't exactly taken pleasure from eventually assassinating the man with some well-placed seals he'd constructed, but neither had he bothered to mourn his death.

He began to meditate lightly to calm his nerves. No matter how much he'd studied the targeted jounin's habits, there had been places he'd been barred from entering. The administration building – where the Tsuchikage's office was located – had been one of them.

When he opened the door that had been indicated to him, he had to force himself not to show any changes in his expression or his stance. He'd been expecting stairs that led to the next floor – like they had in Konoha – but he encountered stairs that led below ground. He stepped across the threshold of the door as he closed the door behind him. The administration building did have more than a single level above ground, but apparently it had levels below the ground too.

Naruto continued to focus lightly on his meditation as he descended the stair. There wasn't a lot of light in the narrow staircase and the hallway beyond, so he trailed his hands along the wall in order to better feel where he was going.

He was suddenly blinded by light when a previously unnoticed door was flung open inches from hitting him in the face.

He barely managed to repress the squeak that strangled his throat as he stared unaffectedly straight ahead at the masked shinobi that held the door for him.

Neither of them made a sound as Naruto bowed minimally before he edged past the ANBU.

"Tsuchikage-sama," Naruto saluted the Kage as he stopped a respectful distance from the leader's desk.

Iwa's kage was built like a bull. He had bulging muscles that could be discerned clearly despite the traditional kage-robes he wore. His eyes were as grey as his daughter's, but where Hari's eyes reminded Naruto of oncoming storm-clouds, his' were more likened to the deadly colour of sharpened steel.

This was obviously not a man to suffer fools gladly. Rather, Naruto got the impression that the Tsuchikage would probably be in his best mood if _he_ was the one to make the previously mentioned fools suffer.

Sweat trickled down Naruto's neck from tension and nervousness and he hoped anyone noticing would chalk it up to the hot humidity of the enclosed, underground air.

The ANBU wasn't leaving the room and stayed within sight at all times. This made Naruto even more nervous since it was such a contrast to the procedures of Konoha's ANBU who mostly kept themselves hidden unless they were needed. They rarely even ventured into the Hokage's office unless specifically called.

The Tsuchikage scrutinised Naruto for barely a second, not even bothering to return Naruto's greeting. Then he decisively plucked up one of the two scrolls positioned on his desk and threw the scroll towards Naruto.

Naruto caught it expertly. Calmly.

"Deliver that to your colleague," the Tsuchikage ordered. "He should be waiting for it at the gate."

Naruto bowed once, shortly and as professional as he could manage even as his nerves felt like they were about to snap under all the tension that suddenly left him. He'd only have to make it out the door and he was home-free.

"Hai, Tsuchikage-sama."

With his respects given, Naruto turned and made his way towards the door. He opened it, stepped through and closed it carefully behind himself as a soundless sigh of relief escaped him.

Behind him, in the room he'd just left, the Kage and the ANBU exchanged covert glances. A blink of the eye later the ANBU was gone.

Oblivious to the sudden disappearance of the ANBU that had been in the Tsuchikage's office, Naruto made his way carefully back through the narrow and dark corridor, up the stairs and out the door of the building.

The sunshine that hit him in the face the moment he stepped outside had never felt more heavenly or freeing to Naruto.

The hardest part was done as far as Naruto was concerned. Now he only had to figure out a way to open the sealed scroll, copy it, seal it again so that no-one could tell it had been opened, and then he had to deliver it to his 'colleague' at the entrance gate.

_Piece of cake_, he thought as he began to manoeuvre his way through the crowded street. He slipped behind a popular bakery unnoticed as he began to look for a trace of the entrance to the underground tunnels that he knew was there.

Both before and after his assassination of the jounin whose body he currently imitated, Naruto had ventured down into the tunnels on a number of occasions in an effort to get to know the maze-like structure at least partly.

He'd always changed his appearance for each trip so he didn't worry about getting recognised as a person who shouldn't be there, or a person who seemed to have too much interest in the tunnels.

Mentally Naruto praised whoever had invented the transformation technique he was using. Not only couldn't it be dispelled like a simple Henge, but it also incorporated some sort of genetic memory into the user. This memory made it possible for Naruto to change back and forth between old and new appearances without worrying about forgetting some of the details of the transformations he previously used.

With the genetic memory it was easy – but still awfully painful – for Naruto to change back to his own original appearance, his appearance as a mercenary, his appearance as 'Inu' and now, his appearance as 'Daichi-san'. All he had to do was mentally focus on the times he'd been in the different personas and the technique would automatically change him to the exact image of what he'd used before.

Naruto liked to think of the genetic memory as a path of least resistance.

It was a documented fact in physics that every kind of energy travelled the road of the least resistance. Apparently this also applied to Naruto's advanced transformations. His cells 'remembered' the different shapes they'd been in before and it was easier for them to change themselves into a shape they'd held before than a completely new one.

Naruto couldn't be one hundred percent sure, but he still thought that it hurt marginally less to transform into a form he'd held before than to think of – and then transform himself – into a completely new form.

Eventually locating the concealed entrance to the underground tunnels, Naruto opened a hidden hatch in the dusty ground. He peered down into the dark hole under the hatch before he threw caution to the wind and jumped down.

After a short fall, he landed on light and soundless feet.

The hatch above him closed with a barely soundless 'click' as Naruto waited for his night vision to kick in. When it finally did, he could perceive the dark, jagged edges of the tunnel walls that prevented people from resting – or casually touching – them. He glanced upwards and barely managed to make out the sharpened stalactites that artificially made up the 'roof'.

…_Yeah,_ he thought to himself, u_sing the tunnels to infiltrate Iwa would be a bad idea._

He started to walk in the direction he thought he ought to be going. The flickering light from very sparsely positioned torches gave the effect of darkness dancing amongst the shadows of the corridors. He knew very minor parts of the tunnels, but he'd never claim to know every twist and turn. Regardless, he'd travelled _this_ particular section of the system before and he was nearly certain that he was heading in the direction he intended.

If he was correct, there should be a well concealed dead-end somewhere to the right close to his position where he could safely work on the scroll and its seal without risking being interrupted or seen by the nin travelling the tunnels.

He had been walking for five minutes when he spotted the entrance to the dead-end. It was nearly invisible in the darkness of the underground corridor. The entrance was a thin gap in the wall that Naruto would barely be able to squeeze himself through. The gap didn't even look like an entrance, but simply seemed to be a regular shadow along the jagged wall of the tunnel.

Naruto was careful to check for possible watchers or spies as before he made his way towards the gap. Once there he carefully wriggled his way through the narrow crack in the wall. He scraped himself on the jagged edges of the rock, but the small wounds were healed before they even started to bleed so he wasn't particularly worried of leaving visible evidence of his trespass.

The dead-end he'd now entered was a single open space that didn't lead anywhere. He'd checked it out on the occasion that he'd been here before and he hadn't found any secret entrances or exits. It seemed to be a naturally formed pocket in the earth and stone that the tunnel-makers had accidentally opened up an entrance to.

Naruto didn't doubt that the Iwa-nin were aware of the 'room', but he very much doubted that they were using it for anything. In any case, it would soon be a moot point. He was certainly not going to let chance have any say in the succession of his mission.

Pulling a small scroll from the single pocket in his vest, Naruto dispelled the seal on it to release the objects he'd enclosed within it.

Rudimentary seal-grafting equipment and a pre-grafted scroll were revealed.

Picking up the small knife, Naruto nicked himself on the finger as he concentrated on keeping chakra from healing the shallow wound's edge. Once he was certain he could keep the wound from healing itself, he got to work on grafting a temporary seal to surround the small gap that was the entrance into the room.

The work was done quickly and the seal was activated with a bright flash of chakra.

Nodding in satisfaction, Naruto pulled out the scroll he'd received from the Tsuchikage. The dead-end he was in was now protected from unwanted entries. It was a basic level of genjutsu, only made by written seals instead of hand-seals. The technique would subtly redirect any unwanted attention away from the entrance to the dead-end. In effect, it would reinforce the impression that the entrance was simply a shadow created by the jagged wall.

Naruto had never really gotten the hang of genjutsu when he had to use hand-seals. It wasn't that he didn't have to imagination or the willpower to bring illusions into reality, but rather the never-ending interference he experienced with his chakra from the process of fusing the fox's energies to his own. In any event, he was thankful for all the opportunities seal-grafting provided in making up for his own shortcomings.

The seal on the scroll was easily overcome. It was only a basic seal to ensure that the scroll hadn't been opened by anyone before it reached its destination. It was rather similar to the purpose of a wax seal, very basic and easily no concern for verified genius in sealing.

Breaking the rudimentary seal, Naruto opened the scroll. He didn't have any time to read through it at the moment. It was expected at the gate and he was already running short on time. Instead of immediately reading it, Naruto picked up the pre-grafted scroll he'd brought with him.

The scroll was designed to copy any written ink that came in contact with its paper. Naruto simply opened the scroll and pressed the scroll from the Tsuchikage against it. The ink from the Tsuchikage's scroll seemed to transmit onto the parchment of Naruto's scroll as if it was wet paint. When Naruto pulled the scrolls apart again, the Tsuchikage's scroll seemed un-tampered with while his own contained writing that had to be read by the use of a mirror.

Grinning at his own brilliance Naruto closed both of the scrolls. He replaced the rudimentary seal he'd removed from the Tsuchikage's scroll, making sure that it was identical to the old seal. After that he resealed his own scroll and his sealing equipment back into the scroll he'd pulled from his vest-pocket.

So far, so good.

He deactivated the genjutsu-seal on the entrance and left the dead-end.

Once at the gate he located his colleague and handed the scroll from the Tsuchikage over to him. He knew the man from his two months of observing Daichi-san's movements.

The jounin grunted a small complaint that he'd expected him sooner, but seemed to leave it at that.

With everything over and done with Naruto sighed in relief as he began to make his way home. 'Home' being the apartment that 'Daichi-san' lived in. He'd stolen the jounin's life and now he had to live it out convincingly.

Curfew was approaching fast when Naruto locked himself into Daichi-san's home so he didn't pay too much attention to the flickering shadow of a passing ANBU. The special-unit shinobi was probably just checking the streets for people who thought it would be a good idea to violate curfew.

Naruto locked the door and made sure that all windows were closed and covered from possible spies – in accordance to Daichi's habits – before he sat down to read and memorise the new scroll he'd appropriated.

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In the next week Naruto continued his charade as the jounin Daichi.

His growing familiarity with the routines of his 'missions' didn't keep his nervousness from increasing with each trip.

When Jiraiya came to check up on him at the sixth month of his stay in Iwa, Naruto had omitted to tell his future mentor about his success at infiltrating the Tsuchikage's office. He'd done this for one reason and one reason only.

Something was not right.

After reading the first scroll he'd copied from Iwa's Kage, Naruto had found it necessary to question the scroll's information.

The scroll clearly held information relevant to the war and Iwa's plans to defeat Konoha. The problem was that the scroll clearly contained information that was wrong as well. Information that Naruto knew couldn't possibly be right.

In parts of the first scroll, the entire Hyuga- and Uchiha-clan had been implicated as spies for Iwa. If that wasn't enough, Jiraiya himself was working with Orochimaru in order to bring the downfall of Konoha. Iwa's forces were ordered to advance on Wind.

In other scrolls Naruto had copied; Fire-Country's Daimyo had been named a trusted advisor to the Tsuchikage. Tsunade-hime was named as a contact-person for Iwa-nin in the event that they infiltrated Konoha. Iwa's forces were ordered to advance on Fire.

Other scrolls again revealed plans of kidnapping the Daimyo and his son and attacking Uzu to prevent the country's alliance with Konoha. Konoha's Council was written to be traitors of the Hokage and Namikaze Minato was the brains of the entire operation. Apparently, Minato wanted the position for himself and was conspiring with the Council to get the Sandaime removed.

Iwa's forces were ordered to advance on Mist.

Iwa's forces were ordered to stand down.

Iwa's forces were ordered to advance on Whirlpool.

Orochimaru was working with the government in Wind, Whirlpool, Stone and Mist to overthrow the governments in all the lesser countries. _Cloud_ was apparently the _neutral_ country according to Iwa's Intel.

It only got worse from there.

Iwa's forces were ordered to give up and surrender…

Information in the scrolls was jumbled and mostly self-contradicting. Everyone and no-one from the Hokage himself to the weakest genin in Konoha were basically revealed to be traitors.

Fire and its village weren't the only ones mentioned in the scrolls. Sand and Whirlpool were also 'revealed' to have countless traitor and spies within their borders.

Naruto knew this could only mean one thing.

He – or rather Daichi – was under suspicion from the Tsuchikage.

As such, Naruto couldn't really use any of the information in the scrolls unless he knew what was true and what was false. It was aggravating to the extreme. He _knew_ that there was some truth in the scrolls; he just couldn't know _which_ of all the plans mentioned were real and which were merely written to throw him off.

Naruto figured that the only reason he – or Daichi – hadn't been apprehended for questioning – or execution – yet, was that the Tsuchikage still didn't know which village Naruto worked for or even if Naruto truly was a spy. The fact that Leaf – or Sand or Whirlpool – hadn't shown any reaction to having received the false information from the scrolls indicated that 'Daichi' hadn't yet given the information away – or even that he'd read the scrolls at all.

The scrolls were so obviously filled with false information that any spy reading them would realise they'd been caught immediately and probably attempt to escape. The fact that 'Daichi' was still in the village – acting normally – and coming to work everyday as if nothing was out of the ordinary was a point in favour of Naruto.

Naruto found himself at an impasse with the Tsuchikage and secretly he admired the man and his tactics.

As long as Naruto continued to play the part as Daichi without rousing further suspicion, the Tsuchikage wouldn't do anything.

Naruto's only hope was that the Tsuchikage would eventually give up on the thought that Daichi was a spy and finally start to give the jounin the correct scrolls.

In his most defeated moments – when the tension and the hopelessness of the situation really got to him – Naruto would wonder about what had first given him away in his role as Daichi.

He got his answer two weeks into living his life out as Daichi.

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**Village of Stone; the Main Administration; the Tsuchikage's Office;**_** Six months and two weeks after infiltrating Iwa; **_**20:00 local time.**

Naruto stood at attention in front of the Kage of Iwa.

Two weeks of entering and exiting the office unharmed had done nothing to reassure Naruto's frazzled nerves. He couldn't remember ever being as high-strung and out of his depth as he felt here in this office with the cold, hard eyes of the Kage weighing and judging him from the front while the ever-present, silent ANBU emotionlessly considered his worth from behind.

Still, habit had at least conditioned him to be better able to conceal his rising tension.

Naruto had never had to rely so much on his abilities to meditate as he'd done in the last two weeks.

The small underground office was saturated with stifling silence. It had been so since Naruto had entered and uttered his usual polite greeting to the Kage.

He'd expected this day to play out like all the other days he'd been here, but today was decidedly different from any other time. The Kage hadn't tossed him one of the two scrolls lying on the desk like he normally did. This day, he'd simply stared levelly at Naruto with unblinking and unreadable eyes.

Minutes ticked by in the clogging silence and still nothing happened.

Naruto was so deeply entrenched in his meditation in an effort to control his pulse and his breathing that he hardly noticed it when the Tsuchikage suddenly started to speak.

"I know you are a spy."

Caught completely off guard by the sudden and unexpected words, Naruto's eyes widened imperceptibly as he otherwise struggled to keep his cool.

The standstill had finally been broken then, he supposed.

"Tsuchikage-sama?" He uttered the man's rank with a lilt, indicating his bewilderment with his supposed leader's sudden words. Better not to give too much away at first. If he was lucky he could perhaps convince the Kage that he was mistaken. Maybe the wily leader didn't know anything for sure and was only doing this in an attempt to spook Naruto into revealing himself. There were too many possibilities at the moment, too many variables and uncertainties.

Ninja were supposed to thrive in conditions such as these, but Naruto didn't really feel like thriving at all at the moment. He wanted to be back home, behind the secure and familiar walls of Konoha…

He missed Jiraiya.

…And Tsunade, Sakura and Kakashi. Iruka too. Heck, he even missed Sai and his awkward – and often loud and public – questions about sex.

"You're good, I'll give you that," the Tsuchikage continued talking apparently without noticing Naruto's utterance.

The silent presence of the ANBU behind Naruto made him think that apparently he wasn't good enough.

If a shinobi got caught it doing something he shouldn't be caught doing, it only meant that the nin would die, or that he would spend an inordinate amount of time in getting better at the soonest opportunity.

Getting caught was never good.

Getting caught mostly translated to death in the world of ninja.

Naruto kept his silence this time, hoping and waiting for the Kage to say something more. Anything at all. Information was important. Information could save lives or – alternatively – condemn people to their deaths.

The Tsuchikage regarded Naruto with shrewd eyes as he gathered his thoughts. "I wonder…" the Kage mused aloud as continued to keep his gaze on Naruto, "Who do you work for?"

Naruto kept his eyes straight forwards, still not willing to say anything that might incriminate him in the event that the fierce Iwa leader was calling his bluff. "Tsuchikage-sama," he said instead, "I don't-"

"Still not willing to admit defeat?" the muscled leader cut him off, "Perhaps you need more convincing? Perhaps you believe that I'm bluffing? Perhaps you take me for a fool?" His voice rose steadily as he talked and when he'd finished, he was standing behind his desk, both hand firmly planted on the table, palms down.

Naruto got the sudden inexplicable urge to turn on his heels and run for his life. Not only was the Tsuchikage well-built and muscled, he was also incredibly tall. Naruto practically had to crane his neck to meet the man's eyes. _He looks kind of like what I'd imagine a Minotaur to look like… without the bull-head and the hairy legs, that is. _

Naruto fought the urge to take a step back even as the rustling of soft cloth reminded him of the ANBU standing behind him, causing him to freeze in place. _Keep him talking Naruto_, he encouraged himself. _You need all the information you can get_.

Breathing heavily now and quite obviously angry, the Tsuchikage walked around his desk to come to a stop right in front of Naruto.

Naruto craned his neck further in discomfort as he attempted to keep the man's face in his sight.

"I'll tell you where you failed, _spy_," the angry Kage hissed as he leaned down to Naruto's level. "I'll reveal to you where you went wrong, and then you can think about your failure in the afterlife."

Spittle flew from the incensed Kage's mouth and Naruto couldn't keep himself from moving away any longer. He took a step back, but was immediately halted by the sound of quickly drawn steel. In the blink of an eye the ANBU behind him had moved forwards in order to rest his sword at the front of Naruto's neck.

Naruto swallowed and felt the cold steel graze, but not quite cut his neck.

"The first of your mistakes was that you touched the wall on your way down the stairs on the first day – I believe – that you attempted to infiltrate the office. The wall has been coated with my chakra and it allows me to know when anyone touches it. All my regular visitors know not to touch the wall and this way I am able to discern loyal nin from possible traitors or infiltrators.

"The second mistake you made," the Tsuchikage continued more calmly now as he pulled back a couple of steps to regard Naruto's trapped position before him, "…was to walk into this building with your chakra utterly concealed.

"I do not know who you are or who you work for, but you are certainly _not_ the jounin who goes by the name of Daichi. He is – or maybe I should say 'was'? – an excellent fighter, but he never did manage to hide his energy as well as you do.

"And your ability to conceal your chakra is truly impressive, I must admit. I've even wondered if perhaps you've never trained in the arts of the shinobi and learned to develop and use your chakra. Are you perhaps a civilian so to speak?"

Naruto realised that he really had been caught and he sent the imposing figure in front of him a defiant glare. Unexpectedly the Tsuchikage began to chuckle, "Such an out of place expression to see on Daichi-san's features" he said. "And on that note, let me commend you on a flawless disguise. You really do look like Daichi. I've wondered, would you perhaps be willing to reveal the mechanics of the technique you're using in return for... shall we say… a lighter punishment?"

"What?" Naruto nearly spat out as he furrowed his brows in a fierce glare, "You only want information about my concealment, not of my allegiances or anything pertaining to the war? And for what?" he added in both disgust and anger, "A quicker death?"

The Tsuchikage chuckled again. This time it came off as far more ominous a sound.

"You underestimate me, Spy," he said with a merciless glint in his eyes, "I could get any information about the war or your allegiances out of you with the use of torture.

"…But exact information like the teachings of a technique apparently as advanced as yours, could not possibly be gleaned through such barbaric measures. Your broken mind wouldn't be able to provide me with the crucial and necessary details I'd undoubtedly need to get the technique to work properly."

Naruto didn't deem that worthy of an answer as he continued to give the Kage of Iwa a fierce glare.

A sudden idea sprung into Naruto's mind as he tried his best to work with the situation he found himself in. He still needed information and since the latest mission he'd received from the Hokage seemed to be a complete failure, he should attempt to complete at least parts of the original mission he'd been sent to complete.

The idea he'd gotten was a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing and probably totally insane, but those kinds of ideas usually worked wonders for him so he decided to try it out.

It was time to see if he would be able to glean some information about what Iwa considered to be Konoha's greatest strengths and perhaps he could even trick the Kage into naming the Leaf-spies he had in Konoha.

"My concealment technique wouldn't work at all against Konoha's greatest strengths," Naruto said spitefully as he continued to glare daggers into the Tsuchikage. "That's what you want to use it for, right? To take down Konoha's strengths? Well," he bluffed bravely, "It won't work."

Instinct said that he'd hit the proverbial nail on the head when the Tsuchikage's eyes sharpened and Naruto's free hands were seized and squeezed sharply together by the ANBU's free hand. It was obvious that he'd caught both their attentions.

"So, you work for Konoha," the Tsuchikage smirked triumphantly even as he attempted to hide how fast his mind was spinning while working on Naruto's newly revealed words.

Naruto didn't much care that the Tsuchikage knew that he was tied to Konoha. He wouldn't be able to track him down in the village anyway, because of his transformed appearance, and Iwa was already at war with Konoha. The Tsuchikage was already hostile towards Naruto's home-village so it wasn't like Naruto was starting a political catastrophe by revealing the fact that Konoha had sent infiltrators across Iwa's borders. Besides, Iwa had apparently done it first. So there.

No, the cost of revealing his allegiance was a small price to pay in the attempt to glean some information that he dearly needed to know.

After a short silence of contemplation the Tsuchikage – who had been pacing around – turned to face Naruto again. The leader of Iwa seemed both hostile and envious as he fixed fierce eyes on Naruto again.

"Konoha and its blasted blood-limits," the Tsuchikage eventually spat out as he glared hatefully at Naruto before he continued more calmly. "No, I don't suppose the vaunted eyes of the Uchiha or even the Hyuga would be fooled by a technique such as yours. High genjutsu though it may be, it is still a genjutsu…"

Naruto chose to keep his silence on the true capabilities of his advanced transformation technique as his mind blanked at the information he'd just received.

The Sharingan and the Byakugan…

_Of course_! Cloud and Stone had always had an unhealthy interest in the blood-limits of Konoha's two most prominent clans.

The Tsuchikage continued his self-righteous rant, completely ignorant of Naruto's inattentiveness. "The Hokage will rue the day he declared Konoha to be the greatest shinobi village in the world. Once this war is over and done with, Konoha's Council – provided Konoha and its Council still exist – will personally hand over the powers of the Sharingan and the Byakugan.

"…And then," he continued as his voice rose, snapping Naruto back to the present. "And then Iwa will be the greatest, the most prominent of the villages once again. As it was before, so shall Iwa return to its infamy of yore, and Konoha and its weak ideals will be crushed beneath those who understand and follow the true code of the ninja."

Naruto blinked in part disbelief as he watched the enraptured Kage in front of him. It seemed like the respected and feared leader of Stone harboured delusions of grandeur. True, Stone had been the greatest of the villages before and shortly after Konoha was founded. That had changed however when the civilians in the different countries discovered that Konoha was both easier to find, easier to approach and cheaper than the other great shinobi villages. (The cheap prices of Konoha's services were mainly because of Fire Country's many resources and also because of the high percentage of child-births in the country. Konoha lacked neither goods and food nor children available and willing to join the military ranks.)

Suddenly, Naruto's subconscious picked up on the other information the Tsuchikage had mistakenly revealed.

"The Council?" he blurted out in surprise, "What does Konoha's Counsil have to do with any plans you have?"

The Tsuchikage's eyes widened as Iwa's leader suddenly seemed to realize that he'd said far more than he'd intended. In the blink of an eye he'd turned his back to Naruto and the ANBU as he made his way towards his desk. "Kill him," he ordered.

The ANBU didn't even hesitate a second before cold steel bit into Naruto's neck, severing arteries and tendons easily.

The Seal-Clone poofed out of existence.

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**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop; **_**Six months and two weeks after infiltrating Iwa; **_**21:17 local time.**

Naruto sat up suddenly in his workroom with a choked scream of pain as _weeks_ of memories suddenly forced themselves upon his psyche.

Memories jumbled together. His time spent in the company of Hari in his own shop and time spent acting and living as Daichi clashed violently and painfully as he suddenly had the memories of living two lives at once in the span of a little over two weeks time.

Clenching his teeth in an attempt to stave off the scream lodged in his throat, Naruto did his best to ride out the pain.

When the pain in his head lowered from a blinding migraine to a constant throb of a headache, Naruto carefully unclenched his jaw as he let out a relieved sigh.

In order to fulfil all the parts of the mission he'd been charged with Naruto had eventually had to resort to the use of Seal-Clones to split his time so to speak.

The two months spent constantly surveying the jounin Daichi had been done by Seal-Clones under various transformations.

To achieve a transformed Seal-Clone, Naruto first had to transform himself before he activated the Clone-seal with a drop of his own blood. It worked like it had when he'd infiltrated Konoha's border-post before he travelled to Iwa. Because of the genetic memory granted by the technique, Naruto didn't have any problems with transforming himself back to his appearance as the Seal-grafter 'Inu'.

With his copious use of Seal-Clones during the last two months and a half, Naruto had quickly been reminded of the very good reason of _why_ the original Shadow-Clone had been labelled a forbidden technique and been sealed away.

He'd known – or at least suspected – the dangers with the technique ever since he'd first learned the technique back when he wasn't even yet a genin. Although the high amount of chakra needed to create Shadow-Clones could drain the user, its enormous chakra usage wasn't the main reason of why the technique had become forbidden. No, the main reason Shadow-Clones – and now Seal-Clones – were dangerous, was because of the very high risk to the user's sanity.

When a fully corporeal clone – like the Shadow- and Seal-Clone – was dispelled, its memories and impressions would be filtered back to its creator. These memories had to be placed and catalogued within the user's mind. The user of the Cloning technique was _identical _to the clone the person created, thought-patterns and all. This meant that the clone's memories of existence would be filed in the exact same 'space' as the memories of the original's life in the time the clone existed. It was within this paradox that the true danger of using fully corporeal clones existed. When the natural 'space' for the clone's memories was already occupied by the original's memories, a collision was unavoidable.

Minds were brittle things to be messing around with. The brain had to work overtime to fully accept and incorporate the sudden – and conflicting – influx of information resulting from the dispelling of a clone. Depending on the mass of information, the mind could very well overexert itself and break, leading to insanity.

The safest way to use the Shadow-Clone technique was to use it very sparingly. This meant that it was wise to keep from dispelling too many clones in short succession. In addition, it was a bad idea to let a clone 'live' for too long. A memory-input from a clone spanning over more than a day was harder for the user's mind to accept and incorporate.

Naruto had always been an exception to the rule when it came to the use of Shadow-Clones –which was why he was the only sane, living individual that could claim to have fully Mastered the technique. Sure, he still suffered debilitating effects from very excessive use of the technique – a migraine here and a headache there – but no matter how irresponsibly he'd used the technique, he'd never actually gone insane from it.

All his teachers up through the years had pondered Naruto's ability to handle the massive information input he was often accosted with. The Shadow-Clone Technique had been Naruto's favourite technique. He often deployed more than a dozen – sometimes even up to a thousand – clones in battle, but he'd never seemed to reach a limit for how long he could maintain the clones or how many clones he could dispel simultaneously without suffering from the broken mind he should be sporting.

In the end, Naruto's teachers had concluded that Kyubi had something to do with protecting their idiot's sanity and they'd left it at that.

Naruto didn't much care either way.

Rising gingerly from his workbench, Naruto hobbled over to the sink to pour himself a glass of cold water. The cool liquid helped to relieve the lasting headache that was throbbing through his head.

Glancing around the workroom, Naruto decided to call it a night. The absorption of the week-long memories had exhausted him and he had a lot to think about tomorrow. He might have partially failed his mission to infiltrate and appropriate information about the war from the Tsuchikage's office, but in the end, he'd partially succeeded too.

New clues had been discovered in the convoluting shadow-plays in the shinobi-world. He was one step closer to understanding Iwa's goal and apprehending the spies stationed in Konoha.

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A/N: Well, I hope this chapter was satisfactory. I've gotten a lot of comments about deviating from canon so I should probably just say this now: This story should be considered an AU. As the plot evolves, Naruto's presence will steer the story away from the future he knows bit by bit. Not to worry though, I have an answer to the eventual paradox-question that is bound to crop up when you play around with time.

Next update can be expected at the end of March at the latest (I think) seeing as I'm on a trip to Texas form the 7th to the 16th. I won't have access to a computer so I won't be able to write on the story on my trip.

As always, a big thank you to my beta Tsurai no Shi.

'Till next time then.  
Eleature

Edited 03.04.08: Fixed some grammatical errors.


	11. Moodswings

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**WARNING**: _This chapter has not yet been betaed, but I've looked it over for mistakes myself. Depending on the feedback I get back from my beta, the chapter's contents may change a little. Still, most of it will probably be the same and you guys deserve to finally get the update I promised seeing as some of you have been waiting for it for a month._ _With this warning in mind it is up to you as readers to decide if you want to read the chapter now, or if you want to wait for the final, betaed version. _

Chapter 10.

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**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop; **_**Nearly seven months after infiltrating Iwa; **_**18:10 local time.**

Naruto sat behind the cashier in his shop as he regarded all the activity on the street outside in the waning light of the setting sun.

For the last two weeks – ever since Naruto's clone was captured and destroyed – the village of Stone had been acting like a disturbed beehive or ant-colony. Admittedly, it had been worse the first few days, but shinobi were still running around in apparent disarray as they searched the village for intruders.

All the activity from the ninja had unsettled the civilians in the village. In the belief that they were about to be invaded, small uprisings and revolts had started up with civilians as instigators. Shops had been broken into as people went into panics and the gate had been flooded by scared families as they attempted to flee the village.

The Tsuchikage had taken swift and harsh actions and by the end of the first two days, the village had settled into an uneasy illusion of normalcy. The many ninja still patrolling the streets with relish was the only hint that led credence to the fact that all was not as it should be in the village of Iwa.

Curfew had been re-set to seven in the evening.

Naruto had been largely unaffected by the whole ordeal. He'd continued his act as an oblivious, but still dedicated drunken seal-grafter. Admittedly, he was expecting a visit by a shinobi in an official capacity any day now. Most of the other stores in the street had been raided and searched at some point…

Still, Naruto wasn't at all prepared for the person visiting him when the doorbell suddenly tinkled at a quarter passed six in the evening.

A cold shiver ran down his spine at the imposing figure stepping through his door and he wildly began to rethink all his escape plans even as his body and mouth ran on autopilot.

"Chi-…Su-…Tsuli-…" He slurred in a drunken lisp as he finally gave up and settled on a much simpler "Kage-sama" as a greeting.

The imposing figure of the Tsuchikage himself stepped into his store and blotted out the light from the shop's windows. The leader of Stone curled his lips in contempt as he surveyed Naruto and everything else within his line of sight. Nothing escaped his attention and Naruto could practically read the conclusions the kage was making just by watching the burly man's face.

The Tsuchikage was surprisingly expressive when he wanted to express negative feelings.

Finally, the kage quit his survey of Naruto's store and his gaze settled heavily on Naruto's swaying form.

Naruto let one of his hands curl protectively around the nearest liquor bottle. The cold glass in his grip was surprisingly familiar and comforting. With an effort, Naruto managed to keep his breath as natural as possible – for a drunkard anyway.

Two moving shadows – barely perceptible – let Naruto know that the kage wasn't alone on his visit.

_ANBU_, his mind supplied instantly, _Bodyguards most likely._

He dearly hoped they were bodyguards at least. He didn't know what chance he'd have if the Tsuchikage was here for any other reason than some business pertaining to seals.

The silence in the shop stretched as the kage refused to return Naruto's greeting – or even acknowledge it – and Naruto let his nervousness show faintly as his free hand started to shake.

"How can I be of service Kage-sama?" Naruto finally broke the silence with the tentative, but still respectful inquiry.

"You are the seal-grafter who goes by the name of Inu?" The kage more stated than asked even as he sniffed in revulsion as if he'd caught the scent of something fouler than an open cesspool.

Naruto nodded eagerly as tensed muscles began to relax. This was familiar territory; he was well acquainted with the disgust he got from some of his more snobby and self-righteous customers.

"Yes, yes. That's me. How may I be of service? Perhaps I can tempt you with some explosive seals? Maybe even some of my better storing seals for carrying heavier equipment? I know!" he blundered on as he turned and his free hand began to rifle through the shelves of finished seals behind him. He didn't get to finish his babbling though because of the Tsuchikage's abrupt words.

"I hear you're grafting a personalized summoning contract for my daughter…" The sentence was spoken with an open ending and Naruto froze in his movements even as he turned around to regard the imposing kage again. The Tsuchikage was after something specific.

_He's fishing for some information,_ his mind supplied for him. The question now was why the Tsuchikage would venture to his shop himself in search for the information in stead of letting his goons – or even his daughter take care of it.

"You've heard correct my Lord," Naruto said clearly as the hand holding the bottle of liquor twitched as if to bring it up to his mouth for a swallow. The kage's sharp gaze tracked the movement though and Naruto thought better of it. Sure he was insolent enough to drink his ass off in the presence of Hari, but it was really pushing it if he drank while the kage himself paid him a visit.

With visible effort, Naruto placed the bottle back on the shop's desk as a sign that he'd give the kage his full attention. Sharp eyes again tracked and filed the movement away behind devious eyes.

"Then you obviously show some proficiency in the art of sealing," the kage answered back. "Have you done seals of that magnitude and difficulty before?" he enquired further.

Naruto shook his head, "No, my Lord Kage. I mostly graft simpler seals. Your daughter's summoning contract is my first attempt at anything of that magnitude." Naruto answered cautiously all the while wondering where the Tsuchikage was going with his line of questioning.

The Tsuchikage's sharp eyes studied Naruto intensely even as the kage spoke. "But you believe you will be successful in your attempt?" he prodded.

"Certainly Kage-sama." Naruto answered decisively. "I've never failed at anything pertaining to sealing before." _As long as we don't mention strange and unexplainable side-effects such as mysteriously landing in the past,_ he mentally added.

The Tsuchikage seemed to consider something for a while because the silence in the shop began to stretch again as neither of them spoke out to break it.

Finally he snapped his fingers as if he'd made his decision.

Naruto jumped at the sudden sound and the sudden movement of one of the Tsuchikage's shadows.

Just as suddenly, a – kunai? – was thrown across the room from the moving shadow and to the kage.

Naruto swayed a little on his feet and had to use the desk to steady himself as his body calmed down from the sudden influx of adrenaline.

The Tsuchikage wasn't done with scaring him though and in the next moment a three-pronged kunai landed between Naruto's two hands with a heavy 'thunk' of iron hitting wood.

Naruto jumped again and landed on his ass behind the counter. He blinked innocently up at the kage as he fiercely struggled to keep any other expression from touching his face at the sight – and recognition – of the weapon and its significance. "Kage-sama?" he inquired nervously as he stumbled back to his feet again.

The Tsuchikage sneered, "Given the fact that you are attempting to graft a personalized summoning contract you must contain some intuition on how seals function." The leader of Iwa said, though the tone of his voice clearly indicated that he really doubted his own words. "Quite possibly the only reason that you haven't blown yourself up – working under the influence as you do – is because the Kami has deemed you – for some inexplicable reason known only to them – worthy enough of being gifted with the Art." The Tsuchikage's sneer widened and a cruel glint entered the intimidating man's eyes, "I want you do decipher the seal on that kunai," he commanded, "Find out what makes it work and how it works as quickly as possible."

The wheels began to spin in Naruto's mind as he regarded the kunai from a small distance, not quite willing to step too close to it while the Tsuchikage was close by.

He got an idea.

"As you wish Tsuchikage-sama," Naruto nodded politely even as the world swayed around him, "Only…" he trailed off.

"What?"

Sensing that the Tsuchikage didn't have the patience to suffer through Naruto's usual acts of evasiveness and drunken behaviour, Naruto shook his head in an attempt to fight the buzz he supposedly had.

"It's just… Some of the characters that have been used on this kunai…" Naruto gestured vaguely to the seal carved into the handle of the weapon. "I've never seen their like before." He admitted.

In truth he was lying his ass off. Nearly all the characters grafted to the kunai were signs pertaining to the matter of dimension and travel. He had plenty of experience with those seals.

…Plenty, but not enough.

The Tsuchikage scowled darkly and the atmosphere in the store seemed to darken alongside the warrior's mood.

Naruto was treading dangerous waters this time. He'd have to move cautiously to get what he wanted.

The silence grew and Naruto began to feel a bit nervous again. He fidgeted and tried his best to avoid the kage's eyes. It was easier said than done and eventually he felt as if he was pierced to the wall by the man's impressive gaze.

"It has been years since Iwa had shinobi capable in the art of sealing," the Tsuchikage suddenly started out of the blue. He gaze was still locked on Naruto as he continued talking, "Konoha has been the village most prosperous with seals ever since Jiraiya of the Sannin showed aptitude for the art." The words were spoken with scorn and no little amount of jealousy and hate. "Still," the kage continued, "we did have Seal-Masters once upon a time in Iwa too and we treasured them and their knowledge."

Naruto kept his silence as the kage of Iwa spoke. If nothing else, he was interested to hear some of Iwa's history when it came to sealing. It was obvious from the way the Tsuchikage spoke that he had the outmost pride in Iwa's lost mastery in sealing.

In the end they came up with a solution to Naruto's alleged problem. He'd be allowed access to the relevant information Iwa had on sealing as long as his studies of the forbidden scrolls were carefully monitored by the Tsuchikage's own ANBU.

Naruto couldn't believe his luck.

The Tsuchikage wasn't stupid though and he set down a time-limit that Naruto had to live up to. If Naruto couldn't show any noticeable results within six months, he'd be punished severely. What that punishment would entail was left unsaid, but Naruto very much doubted he'd appreciate it.

Nonetheless, with access – though severely restricted – to some of Iwa's sealing information, Naruto's life was looking up and the fiasco with the botched infiltration attempt didn't seem to be such a big loss after all.

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**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop; ****S**_**even months and a week after infiltrating Iwa; **_**18:59 local time.**

Naruto turned around from the wall filled with sealing-scrolls in surprise when he heard the unmistakeable sound of the doorbell tinkling in welcome. He'd just been preparing to close the store down for the evening as curfew was set to start any minute now.

"Hari-chan," he greeted the new arrival with surprise when he recognised her lithe figure and her unmistakeable hair-colour.

He hadn't seen the Tsuchikage's daughter in a while – apparently she'd been on another border-patrol – and he was pleasantly surprised to see her again now. Jiraiya hadn't showed up for the last scheduled meeting and he'd been missing some friendly company. Dealing with the Tsuchikage and his ANBU each day was proving detrimental to his sanity. He'd never been as tense and high-strung as he'd been in the last week.

Hari threw him a weak and somewhat forced smile as she entered and locked the door behind her.

Naruto's eyebrows rose in interest as he noticed the move and her obviously strained mood. "It's nearly curfew," he cautioned as he found a chair for her to sit in. She looked exhausted and he recognised this as a time when his normal drunken spiel wouldn't be much appreciated. It wouldn't make her suspicious if he acted normally for once, she'd been subtly encouraging him to quit drinking ever since her earlier talk about his supposed bad childhood. Seeing how affected she'd acted over what she thought to be the truth, Naruto hadn't had the heart to discourage her efforts and had – just as subtly – let her believe that her efforts were working… at least to a very small degree. He still lived for scaring the life out of his customers after all.

As she sat down in the chair, Naruto moved passed her to pull down the drapes on the store's windows, effectively hindering anyone from catching a glimpse of them.

"Shouldn't you be home?" He asked then as he returned to her side.

Even if she was a shinobi – and, indeed the Tsuchikage's only child – she was required to have a pass for venturing outside passed curfew just like everyone else. If Naruto guessed correctly she didn't have a pass now.

Naruto gave the young woman a concerned look as he settled on his haunches in front of her.

"I had a fight," was the first thing she said as an answer to his obvious concern and unasked question.

Naruto's eyebrows rose again as he mulled over her words, completely nonplussed. It wasn't unusual for shinobi to end up in fights and battles, and he knew for a fact that Hari had been through some pretty tough confrontations many times already in her young life. Besides, she didn't seem wounded. Obviously – for something to upset her this much – he was missing something.

"With my father, I mean," she elaborated when she saw how confused he was at her first attempt at explaining.

"Oh," Naruto sighed as he ran an agitated hand through his hair.

Tears were beginning to sparkle in Hari's eyes and her small form was starting to shake as she gazed at him soulfully.

Mentally, Naruto began to panic. He had no ideas of how to deal with an upset female. Most of his experience with females came from his interaction with Tsunade, Sakura, the other girls from the rookie nine and the various prostitutes Jiraiya had introduced him to when he was finally considered old enough.

Naruto very much doubted he should treat Hari as an upset prostitute and the closest person he could think of that somehow related to such a situation as this was Hinata in her younger days. The shy heiress had quickly grown out of her earlier behaviour as she aged though, and besides, the most Hinata had ever done was to faint on him. She's never actually cried when he was close by.

Eventually Naruto simply decided to treat this as he would with any other upset person – be they male or female. He might not be experienced with upset females, but he had plenty of experience with upset males – strangely enough – ranging from a lovesick Kiba to an upset Konohamaru or even Obito.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" he enquired calmly as he rested his hands comfortingly on her shoulders.

Hari hiccup-ed as she tried to get some control over her emotions.

"He's been hearing rumours about us from the shinobi…" she said softly in a broken voice.

Naruto couldn't quite keep the incredulous tone out of his voice as he squeaked; "Us?"

Hari nodded – completely missing his tone – as she smiled humourlessly. "He thinks we're involved and he really disapproves. Apparently no daughter of his is allowed to whore herself out to a no-good drunkard."

Naruto's brows furrowed in anger as his fists clenched. He was really starting to hate the leader of this village and for once it had nothing to do with the man's plans of eradicating Konoha.

"He said that?" he asked sharply, "He really called you a whore?"

Hari nodded miserably. "I tried to tell him that you were completely professional with me and that the only thing we were doing was to spend time together so that you could get to know me enough to graft that summoning contract for me." She hiccup-ed again as a tear slipped from one of her eyes. "I've told him all this before and he didn't mind then… I wonder what changed his mind…"

Naruto could make a guess, but he wasn't about to speak it out loud. Apparently, the Tsuchikage hadn't been at all impressed with Iwa's new seal-grafter. He'd certainly made his disdain and displeasure known when he came to visit Naruto's shop a week ago, but Naruto hadn't though that the Tsuchikage would take his displeasure out on his daughter.

In addition to actually meeting Inu, the Tsuchikage had probably heard the many stories of the seal-grafter's lecherous behaviour. None of this would really have endeared Naruto to the no-nonsense leader of the Stone and naturally he'd wish to keep his precious daughter away from Naruto's bad influence and all the horrendous rumours following him around like flies after rotten meat.

Despite being angry at the Tsuchikage for saying what he had, Naruto could also sympathise and understand the reasons behind the leader's actions.

Sighing Naruto grabbed Hari's hand gently and when he rose he pulled her up with him. "He's probably just trying to protect you," he said in a bad attempt to comfort her. The words tasted sour on his tongue.

"I know that," she exclaimed with a sudden angry tone, "I know that! It's just… he said… He said that he didn't want me around you anymore than necessary."

Naruto glanced sideways at the distressed woman as he began to direct them to the door leading to the upstairs.

She continued on, oblivious of their destination. "He said that when you'd completed the summoning contract, I wouldn't be allowed to come here anymore."

Naruto sighed despondently as he opened the door to his bedroom.

The room was small and modest. It had a bed in one corner and a simple desk and a chair in front of the single small window in the room. Next to the window was a small bookshelf and placed against one of the walls was a small tattered sofa. All in all the room had a cramped, but still relaxing and lived-in feel to it.

Thinking of his own mission in Iwa and all he'd done and would eventually do, Naruto couldn't say that he was too dismayed with the Tsuchikage's orders. If she'd be banned from visiting him after he'd finished the contract then he wouldn't have to think too much about her reactions if she ever found out that he was a spy.

Still, the girl had given him a whole lot to think about.

Steering Hari over to his bed, he settled her carefully on the covers as he moved over to the desk to light a small oil-lamp. "You can crash here tonight," he said as he carried the lamp over to the small wooden ledge serving as a nightstand that stuck out of the wall next to the bed. Shadows were creeping into the room and Naruto could see small snowflakes start to fall outside the small window. Winter was upon them at last. "Curfew's up so you can't go home tonight. I still have some work to do downstairs, but I'll sleep on the couch tonight. You should probably try to get some sleep. Maybe things will look brighter in the light of the morning." Turning to leave the room, Naruto made a small detour to grab the half-full bottle of sake that had been placed and forgotten on the desk some days ago.

Hari watched him leave with hooded eyes.

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When Naruto made it downstairs and into the workroom he immediately set about examining the three-pronged kunai he'd received from the Tsuchikage a week earlier. He needed something to take his mind off the mess with Hari and in addition to that he was genuinely interested in figuring out exactly _how _the Hiraishin functioned anyway. Not that he'd ever release any of the information he found out to the Tsuchikage. Ever.

For better or for worse, Naruto suspected his stay at the village of Stone was rapidly coming to an end.

Leaning over the kunai he was studying, Naruto again went over what he knew about the seal. It was a mix between dimensional seals and a blood contract of some sort. It enabled the user to somehow instantly teleport to wherever the seal was located as long as the seal had been charged with enough chakra. A charged seal could be used to teleport once and after that it had to be recharged before it could be used again.

What Naruto hadn't figured out was how the future Yondaime could activate the seal from a distance, or even how the user would know how to activate what seal. Minato operated with more than one special-kunai when he was in the field and Naruto had never quite figured out how the blonde jounin managed to determine and activate one specific seal.

With some experimentation, Naruto had quickly come to realise that Minato was probably the only being alive that would be able to activate and use the seals he'd created. He'd tried to recharge the seal on the kunai with his own chakra-enhanced blood, but besides a strange, nearly nonexistent tug in the back of his mind, nothing had happened. All in all, Naruto figured this was a good thing because it meant that the enemy couldn't use Minato's invention against Konoha if they ever – as Iwa obviously had done – got their hands on one of the used kunai.

Picking up a discarded pen, Naruto pulled the seal closer to the lamp he'd lighted on the desk and with meticulous patience he began to pick the seal apart, one character after another.

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Time flew by and as it passed Naruto spent more and more time under the suspicious eyes of the Tsuchikage's ANBU in a secure room they'd found for him where he could safely read and study Iwa's scrolls on sealing.

His time spent with Hari had also increased and it seemed to him that the young woman was determined to spend as much time as possible with him before she was forced to never see him again. Naruto wondered privately to himself if she ever realized that she was just speeding up the inevitable seeing as he now got to know her at a much faster pace than before.

Outside winter raged in full and the war had been forced to be put on hold on account of terrible snowstorms raging along the borders. This had proved to be both a blessing and a curse.

According to Jiraiya and – surprisingly – Hari, some of the more inexperienced troops had been killed in the storms. These troops were mostly cannon-fodder of lowly ranked shinobi or mercenaries and samurai so they were no great loss. Still, with the way the war had been going no village or country could afford to loose too many people no matter how inexperienced or incompetent they were. As such nearly all the countries were a bit relieved about the sudden storms because they gave all of their warriors a much needed break.

Naruto took the information in stride. As time went by and the weather got worse he began to experience a feeling of isolation far surpassing anything he'd felt in the first two months he'd been in the village and eventually he'd taken Jiraiya's advice and he'd begun to remind himself every day and every night that he was in enemy territory and in no circumstances was he allowed to ever forget that.

His feelings of being isolated didn't get any better when Jiraiya eventually confided to him – in the ninth month he'd been in Iwa – that he wouldn't be visiting him regularly anymore. He was informed that if anything came up, he was to use the seal-pendant he'd received from the man months earlier. Hiding his rising desperation Naruto had agreed without an argument, but as a result he'd immersed himself even more in the world of seals and its possibilities.

When everything else became too much to handle he chose to block it out by working his ass off. Each night he went to bed exhausted and some nights he didn't even bother to go to sleep for fear of nightmares featuring possible terrible outcomes of the war. As a result he created a whole bunch of new seal-designs as he waited for the snow to thaw and for spring to set in.

Hari was probably the only one to notice his dour mood, but she mistakenly thought it was because of her news to him that she wouldn't be able to see him anymore once he'd finished the contract she'd conned out of him. This was probably also one of the reasons of why she decided to spend more time with him.

Naruto dearly wished she wouldn't – truly – as it made it harder and harder for him to remember that she was the enemy. Other times, he quite fearfully realized that he loved her for the dedication and loyalty she showed him.

It was hard to keep a light mood up when he had so many conflicting emotions and interests warring for his attention.

Still, he did what he was best at and forced himself to endure.

It was as the twelfth month of his stay in Iwa came around that the situation he found himself in reached a boiling point.

He had a month left to show his results of his research on the three-pronged kunai-seal to the Tsuchikage and he knew that his time in Iwa was expiring by the day.

The fact that he was finally ready to attempt to create Hari's personalised summoning contract was eventually the straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak…

0101010101

**Village of Stone; Shopping district; The Incredible and Amazing Inu's Seal-shop; **_**Twelve months after infiltrating Iwa;**_** 18:00 local time**

Just as Naruto moved to close the doors of his shop for the night a now very familiar lithe figure opened the door to glide nearly soundlessly inside.

Naruto recognised Hari immediately and couldn't keep the pleased smile off his face as he greeted her jovially with a familiar bottle in one hand.

As had become a habit for her, Hari twisted the lock on the door before she went to the windows to pull down the blinds.

"Inu-kun," she greeted happily back as she finally turned to pull him into a fierce, but brief hug.

Naruto let her, as he regarded her with fondness he knew he shouldn't have. She'd obviously run to reach his store before curfew set in and as a result her cheeks were flushed pleasantly with a rosy colour.

"Have a nice day?" he enquired amusedly as he led her up to the second floor and into the kitchen where he offered her something to drink. She accepted some juice happily as she threw herself down on one of the wobbly chairs by the kitchen table.

"Yes!" she answered excitedly as she gesticulated wildly with her hands. The juice in the glass she held sloshed dangerously close to being spilled over.

Naruto continued to smile indulgently at her as he took a seat across from her. Inside though, his feelings were warring as never before. He was ready to attempt to contact her summons in the astral-realm. After that it would be easy to finalise and graft the personalised contract she wanted. Doing this though would result in the end of the friendship they had and Naruto didn't really know what he'd do with himself after that.

In the time after Jiraiya had stopped visiting, Naruto had found himself more and more dependant on Hari and whatever relationship they had together. He knew that this was really detrimental to his loyalty to Konoha, but he couldn't help but need some form of friendship and company while he was isolated away from everything else he knew.

Oblivious to Naruto's thoughts, Hari smiled wider as she leaned across the table towards Naruto. "I've been elected to try for a jounin test," she finally confided as her eyes sparkled in excitement, "I've wanted to try for years, but father has always denied my attempts. If I pass I have to work in the field a couple of years, but after that I can try out for a genin-team." Smiling even wider, Hari took a sip from her glass. "I've always wanted to teach genin, or maybe I'll try for a specialized education as a personal instructor, or maybe I'll study up on the old stories and traditions and become an Elder. Maybe I'll get to boss father around then. There are so many opportunities as a jounin."

Naruto smiled for her as he collected her empty juice glass.

"You want a refill?" he asked.

She shook her head 'no' and Naruto put the empty glass in the sink to be cleaned later.

"I bet a Personalised Summons would be pretty impressive to show to the proctors when you try out on the test," Naruto said neutrally as he leaned on the sink to inconspicuously keep his back to her. He didn't really want to see how she'd react to that because he wasn't entirely sure she'd be sad at the information he'd implied to her. He selfishly wanted her to be sad.

The silence that greeted him at his words was impossible to interpret though and he was forced to wait for what seemed an eternity before Hari finally said anything.

"You're ready to attempt to make the contract?" she finally asked, her voice curiously empty of inflection.

Naruto finally tuned around to regard her and he immediately saw that at least she wasn't exactly jumping for joy at the thought. In fact, she seemed rather despondent herself.

Nodding Naruto pulled a bottle of sake and two small dishes from one of the cupboards, then he went over to take his seat across from her again. Pouring them both some of the alcoholic liquid, he passed one over to her as he drank his own fill down in one swallow.

Hari drew her brows together in a frown as she fiddled with the drink she'd received.

The silence in the room stretched before she finally broke it with a whispered sentence, "I don't want you to complete it."

Naruto did a double take as he regarded her closely. "You don't mean that," he finally said.

"Yes I do!" she was definitely angry now as he rose from her seat to tower over him. "I don't care about that stupid contract. I care about you!"

_Crap._ To Naruto this was the worst thing she could ever have said and even as he subconsciously cheered at her admission, he felt his mood plummet as he thought of all the implications of her statement.

Not even bothering with the sake-dish, Naruto grabbed the whole bottle to chug it as he desperately wished for the ability to get sloshed if only this once.

"You don't meant that," he finally said silently when he eventually placed the empty bottle back on the table. He knew that she had meant it, he knew her well enough after a year to know that she'd never lie about something like that to him, and still, it would all have been for the best if she'd lied.

Hari stopped her tirade to focus on him fully when she registered his words. Without saying anything in reply she sat back down in her chair to scrutinize him intently. Uncomfortable with her intense gaze, Naruto looked away from her.

"There's something you're not telling me." She said finally after an eternity of silence.

Naruto continued to avoid her gaze, throughoutly uncomfortable with where she was going with the conversation.

Sighing heavily, Hari finally seemed to make a decision.

Naruto held his breath.

Then, suddenly and totally unexpected she lunged over the table to land on him, pushing both him and the chair he sat on to the floor.

Naruto's instincts warred and he was a second from attacking her out of sheer instinct when the feeling of warm, soft lips on his own stopped him as effectively as if he'd run into a wall.

Hari broke the kiss with an audible sound as he rose herself up in order to be able to straddle him comfortably. "I don't care," she said eventually as she began to finger the shirt Naruto was wearing.

Heat began to course through Naruto as he watched Hari warily. Mentally his inner voice was screaming at him. He couldn't let this happen. He absolutely could not let this happen.

Hari kissed him again, this time with a lot more aggression and passion as she bit his lip to startle him into letting her tongue into his mouth. Heat coursed through him and mental protests died away as he began to reciprocate.

"I don't care," she kept repeating between her kissed as the heat in the room seemed to double. Her voice had the effect of pulling him out of his daze though and as the logical part of his mind fought for control, he restrained her hands carefully as they both panted in an attempt to catch their breaths.

"Don't," Naruto begged desperately as he fought for a reason of why this was such a bad idea. He was sure that there was one. Heck, he was sure that there were many, but with the heat of her body burning him from above and with the willing and desperate glint in her eyes, he wasn't sure that her reasoning was perhaps better than his own at the moment. "Please don't," he still begged again in a last attempt to change her mind.

_I don't want to hurt you._ He implored_. I don't want you to think badly of me when you realise that all I am to you is a lie. I don't want to betray you, but I don't want to betray my village either. _He tried to reason with her, tried to project his thoughts to her to let her know why they shouldn't do this. He tried to let her know that nothing good could ever come from it. _I care for you, I really do, but I've known you for a year and I've known my home for twenty years. _He tried to excuse himself and his actions towards her, but she couldn't understand the language he was speaking.

Or maybe she could.

"I don't care," she said yet again as her breath left her in a pant. "If nothing else, give me this," she begged in return, "I don't care about your secrets or my father's orders or anything but you…" Taking a deep breath as she went in for another heated kiss, she whispered desperately, "If you can give me nothing else, at least give me this…"

As her lips descended and she made contact again, Naruto wasn't really sure at all anymore of whom she was talking to or what she was talking about. As she began to fumble with his pants, Naruto decided that he didn't really care at all either and he finally let go of any and all of his doubts and misgivings.

Sensation took over and a fire of epic proportions began to roar through him as night fell and settled.

At some point during the night, they managed to relocate to the bedroom.

0101010101

**02:05 local time**

Naruto cast a glance at the sleeping form lying in his bed before he silently slipped out of the bedroom. He scaled the stairs down to his shop without making a sound and then he entered his workroom.

His mind was curiously empty as he walked around and prepared for what he was about to do. Somehow this night seemed as if it had been inevitable and he'd just never realised it before now. He felt numb.

Lighting a couple of scented candles – to help him keep calm and centred – Naruto picked out a corner of the room padded by a couple of blankets and some pillows. He then settled himself in a comfortable position on the floor. He'd been meditating regularly ever since he arrived in the past – and even before that – so he was pretty used to finding relaxing positions to sit in.

Taking a deep breath he quickly centred himself.

The world fell away around him.

Before his inner eye long stretching corridors appeared and he suddenly found himself standing in the familiar, damp halls of his mindscape.

In order to reach the astral-realm he'd have to open up a path in his mind and keep it partially opened so that he was connected to his own mind while he ventured into the borderland of all dimensions and realities.

This was both very difficult and extremely risky as the opening to his own mind could be exploited by other spirits and minds wandering the astral-realm. If another _Will_ entered and managed to take control of his mind and body while his own will was travelling in the astral-realm, he'd be what was popularly referred to as being possessed.

The possessing will could close the opening to the astral-realm effectively cutting off his link to his own mind and body and he'd be lost in the borders of all possibilities…Probably forever too.

This was the reason that very few people ever actually attempted to access the astral-realm. The risk was normally too great unless you had – as Jiraiya had advised – a supernatural guardian to guard the gate to your mind.

If you were really creative though, you wouldn't need a supernatural guardian.

Naruto planned on being creative.

Walking along the corridors of his mind, Naruto set out for the room where Kyubi's prison had once been.

As he travelled the halls of his mind he walked passed a whole lot of doors. Some of which were open and some of which were closed. They came in different colours and designs. Most were made of plain wood, but some were iron and some even glass.

Each door contained a specific memory that was vital to Naruto's personality and how he perceived himself.

He'd never had the courage to explore all of them, though he'd been forced by Jiraiya ages ago to at least check out a few. Apparently it was vital for a person to know himself if he wanted to be well-balanced.

Naruto didn't hesitate at all to enter the door leading to Kyubi's Room as he'd taken to calling it.

Once he entered it didn't take him long to realise that almost nothing had changed with the mess that symbolized his chakra-coils. They were still twining around each other in disarray and chaos, though admittedly some progress seemed to have been made.

The ball of glowing chakra-coils had lessened marginally in the year and the months he'd been in the past, and in some placed the coils had thinned out for him to barely perceive _something_ at the centre of the coils.

Shrugging it off for the moment, Naruto closed the door behind him so that he was locked into the room with the massive ball of choked-up chakra-coils. The seals on the floor glowed fiercely as they worked to filter, contain and distribute the chakra in the room.

Naruto stepped carefully around the room to inspect it – the trip took a lot less of time than it should, but then again time was irrelevant in the mind – before he ended up where he started. Deeming himself to be ready and the room to be as perfect as it could get, Naruto began to channel, not chakra, but memories.

In order to steer possible hijacking Wills away from his mind, Naruto had to make his mind as inhospitable and repulsive as possible for any wandering spirits that may come across the door he'd open to the astral-realm.

Wandering – or lost – spirits would be eager to escape from the astral-realm so they'd be willing to inhabit nearly anything they came across. The only thing that would possibly discourage them from entering his mind would be what any spirit feared the most.

Insanity.

Insanity would effectively take a hold of any spirit attempting to possess him and as a result they'd cease to exist. It was a conundrum to any of the people researching astral-planes and supernatural spirits, but it was a well-established fact that spirits inhabiting a body that was originally not their own would cease to exist if the host was insane.

No-one had managed to find a reason for it. It simply _was._

Seeing as Naruto wasn't actually insane – though most if not all of his friends would argue that he was – he'd have to artificially construct this room of his mind to make it _seem_ as if he was. It was important that the door to the room stayed closed during the entire process or the memories he'd mix together could very well seep through to the rest of his mind and actually make him insane.

It was all very risky.

The memories Naruto was calling to the room arrived a lot easier than he'd ever expected them to. Though he'd chosen this specific room because it would be used to the feel he was going for.

Kyubi hadn't exactly been a bundle of happiness and fun, and Naruto used the memories he had of the fox's presence to bind other selected memories together in one chaotic mixture.

The room he was in acquired a faint red light and Naruto was surprised to realise that the light was coming from the centre of the ball of chakra-coils and the now red-glowing seal-characters covering the floor of the room.

Figuring that the reason behind it was because of all the conflicting memories he was assembling into one room, Naruto ignored it as he began to tie anger together with happiness, confusion with stability and elation, love with hate and agony with ecstasy.

Conflicting memories were tied together in a long stream of chaotic flashes of things he'd experienced in his life, and through it all, he laid the foundation with the endless rage and unbound hate that he remembered from his meetings with the fox-demon that had once occupied the very room he was standing in.

Once done Naruto forcefully – and painfully – jarred his mind's perceptions of reality as a door appeared out of nowhere in front of him.

The door seemed like it was made out of grey fog and it wavered and flickered in and out of his view as he regarded it critically.

Jiraiya had never actually done anything but walk him through the steps of how to theoretically enter the astral-realm and as a result Naruto barely had anything to rely on, on how to accomplish what he had set out to do.

Throwing all caution to the wind Naruto stepped forwards to open the door.

The first thing he noticed was that there was nothing substantial in the border-realm. Everything was grey though the distance flickered with pale blue lights. There was no ground to stand on, no sky to see and no sense of forwards, backwards, up or down.

Taking a deep breath Naruto stepped through the door, but he was careful to not close it behind him.

As soon as he'd taken the step he was somewhere else entirely, though how he could tell that, he hadn't the faintest idea. Everything still looked the same, but for the fact that there no longer appeared to be an open door behind him.

Squashing any feelings of doubt or panic that threatened to appear, Naruto focused on the goal of this little venture.

_Find a Summons for Hari._

Focusing on the thought of Summons and everything they entailed, Naruto took another step in a random direction. In the astral-realm directions and distances didn't matter at all. All that mattered was the _will _of the traveller.

He _moved _again and this time the world moved with him. Some of the many infinite lights in the distance seemed to rush towards him as he focused his will on what he knew of Summons. Suddenly he was surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands of pale doors stretching out in the distance. It was far more than a little bit disconcerting as the doors even seemed to surround him from above and below.

None of the doors that had appeared were open.

As he stood silently and still, he carefully studied them and as his eyes focused on each of the doors, the strange fog they were made of seemed to move and very soon, forms resembling different faces appeared to stare at him from the surfaces of the doors.

There were forms and faces of all kinds ranging from different birds to exotic species' he'd never seen before in his life. What really caught his eyes though were two specific doors where the fog forming the faces on the doors' surface seemed to be coloured. It gave the doors an overall more alive feeling and as Naruto took a step closer to examine them, all of the other doors disappeared again in the far off distance.

The doors with the forms of a toad and a fox were left behind.

Stepping closer still, Naruto reached his hand out towards the door he felt the most familiar with. Before he could touch the surface though, the toad-face on the door went from a foggy consistency to a more substantial form within the blink of an eye.

Startled, Naruto drew back again.

The toad-face blinked a couple of times before it finally focused in on the astral-form of the human in front of it. "Who's knocking?" it asked and Naruto wasn't quite sure that the insane memories he'd left behind in Kyubi's Room hadn't begun to leak out to the rest of his mind.

"Uh.." he stuttered and trailed off before he could even begin to think of anything to say.

It didn't seem to matter though as the face began to speak again, totally disregarding anything he could've thought of to say.

"Hey… don't I know you? You look awfully familiar…"

Naruto blinked again, "Eh…" he tried again, "I'm-"

Before he could say anything else though he was interrupted quickly, "No, no!" the toad-face admonished, "No names! Wait there, I'll come on through."

Seconds later the door opened and a toad reaching to Naruto's waist came jumping through. As the toad stopped and the door closed behind it, it craned its neck to look up at Naruto and Naruto politely sat down to accommodate the toad's height.

"You've never been in the astral-realm before, have you?" the toad asked, but Naruto sensed that it was only a rhetorical question. He still shook his head 'no' though.

The toad nodded, "Just as I thought. The first thing you should know is to never speak your name aloud while you're in this realm. If you do, you'll make it ridiculously easy for any possible enemies that overhear you to find your mind later on.

"You're a Grand-Toad-Summoner," the toad continued, effortlessly changing topics as he began to study Naruto critically.

Naruto nodded dumbly as he tried to assimilate the new information the toad had imparted on him. Jiraiya had never mentioned anything about the risks of uttering his name while in the astral-realm.

"I can see the contract in your aura and now that I think about it the Boss and his youngest have been talking a lot about you," the toad continued to talk, quite oblivious to Naruto's distracted thoughts. "You have other contracts too," the toad continued as it scrutinized Naruto's form closely.

At that Naruto quickly snapped his attention back to the toad's words. "Say what?" he asked apprehensively.

"Oh, you didn't know?" the toad continued, completely nonplussed. Seeing the question Naruto obviously wanted to ask practically painted on the human's face, the creature went on, "And sorry, I can tell you anything more about it if you don't know. All creatures existing outside the mortals' concepts of time and dimension have special rules governing their existence."

Weighing Naruto with a heavy gaze, the toad _smirked_ at him. "This way, I can tell you that you've travelled back in you own time since you obviously know that yourself, but I can't tell you any of the consequences that your little trip might have."

Naruto regarded the toad somewhat disbelievingly as he asked with a neutral voice; "But you know the consequences?"

"Oh, yes," the toad snickered, "All possible choices made by every mortal soul is known to us summons. It doesn't change the fact that we are physically unable to impart the knowledge to you two-legged."

Sighing Naruto drew a hand through his metaphysical hair. "What can you tell me then?" he asked in exasperation.

The toad seemed to cock its head as it regarded Naruto seriously. "I'll be your spirit-guide while you travel the astral-realm," it finally decided. "From what I've seen and heard of you, you need all the help you can get."

And if that didn't send ominous chills down Naruto's metaphysical back, then he didn't know of anything that would.

"Now," the toad began, "what are you looking for in the border-realm? I don't think you intended to knock on the door to the realm of the Toad Summons."

"No, I'm looking for a Summons that will accept a specialized contract." Naruto answered.

"Hmm…" the toad thought it over before it began to speak again. "As you should know, the power of your will is all that matters in this realm. Considering how stubborn you are you should have no problem navigating the astral-realm once you know enough about how it functions.

"In order to find a Specialized Summons it's not enough for you to simply focus on what you know about summoned creatures." The toad explained, "You'll also have to focus on all that you know about the personality of the one who will receive the contract."

Nodding Naruto thought that the toad was talking a lot of sense, "I'll try that then," he said.

Bringing to mind all he knew about Hari, Naruto began to focus on all the things that personalized her. She was aggressive, bold, passionate and at times cunning. She valued to be in control and she was good at keeping a level head. She had en earth affinity and she was persistent when she had a goal. In addition she loved to learn and teach about the old stories and legends of the past.

With all that in mind, he began to focus on what he knew about summons too. Before he took a step, he gave the toad a glance. "Will you be able to follow me?" he asked somewhat nervously.

The toad nodded, "Don't worry, I know your aura now, so I'll follow that" it said.

Naruto took a step.

A single light in the far off distance sped towards him and a door was standing in front of him not a second later.

"Looks like the door to the Badger-realm," the toad's voice said from the space next to Naruto.

Slightly startled – Naruto hadn't noticed the toad's arrival – he still managed to keep his cool and focus on deciphering the form on the smoky door's surface. It did indeed resemble that of a badger.

"Huh!" Naruto said, completely nonplussed.

"Well, go on!" the toad waved him on with a webbed foot, "Knock on the door."

Reaching out with his hand to touch the door's surface – as he'd done earlier to the toad's door – Naruto wasn't too surprised when the form on the door came to life even before he'd managed to touch it.

"What is it now?" the badger face on the door snarled in obvious irritation.

Startled and somewhat put out by the summons' tone, Naruto quickly drew his hand away from the door again. He wasn't quite sure if the badger-face could bite him, but considering the temper he could sense from the creature – and the incredible sharp teeth the thing sported – he wasn't about to take any chances.

"Well, what is it?" the badger asked with a no-nonsense tone, "Get on with it!"

Pulling his scattered thoughts together Naruto told the badger about the personalized contract he was grafting. Quite contrary to how Naruto guessed the creature would react, the badger actually seemed proud that a lowly human had finally recognized the greatness of the Badger Summons.

A short moment later, the door had opened and a badger reaching just a bit taller than the toad entered into the border-realm.

The toad explained to Naruto that the badger would follow Naruto back to his mind in order for it to view every memory and feeling Naruto had concerning Hari. If it approved, it would impart Naruto with the Focus Character of the Badgers that would be needed in order for Naruto to graft the personalized contract.

Focus Characters were essentially keys in order to make and open the bond between the Summoner and the Summons. Once Naruto got to know this character he was bound – by some sort of spiritual mumbo-jumbo that he didn't understand – from ever teaching or using the character again without the approval of the Summons he'd received it from.

Once Naruto was done dealing with the Summons he'd brought into his mind, the creature would leave, and no, he didn't have to worry about the Summons ever again entering his mind without express permission. That too was governed by some sort of spiritual bond enforced by… _something_, most likely the Kami themselves.

After explaining all that, the toad took his leave.

Naruto was left alone again in the astral-realm except for the vicious badger that was grinning infuriatingly at him. "So," the badger drawled, "which way?"

As Naruto focused his will on his own name and mind, the half-open door appeared in front of them both in a spark of light resembling the arrival of a shooting star. The badger by Naruto's side turned to regard him with an inscrutable look.

"You probably don't know this since I doubt that spineless toad would've told you, but normally it would be close to suicidal for a mortal spirit to travel the astral-realm without always – and I do mean always – having a spirit-guide by your side. The possibility of having your mind and body hijacked by a wandering spirit isn't the only danger with this realm. It's not even the greatest," the badger said in a serious tone.

"Oh?" Naruto blinked.

Shaking its head in exasperation at the foolishness of this particular mortal, the badger flashed its fangs.

"A regular mortal spirit actually stands a greater risk of being eaten and devoured by one of the hostile spirits wandering between the dimensions. They'd use the temporary energy they'd receive from absorbing your spirit to temporarily access one of dimensions that are normally closed to them. That or they'd simply use the energy to achieve a higher spiritual mass, thus giving them more permanent power if they're ever summoned to your mortal realm." The badger smirked wolfishly as it fixed sharp eyes on Naruto. "The tailed beasts used to spend a lot of time travelling the astral-realm looking for hapless prey. That was back when astral-travelling was used regularly by you mortals."

Catching on to something the badger had implied, Naruto raised an interested eyebrow. "A regular mortal?" he enquired.

The way the badger had said it, it seemed as if it didn't really consider Naruto to apply to the scenario it had previously talked about when it came to being possible prey for nefarious spirits.

The badger flashed its fangs again in mirthless humour. "Not as foolish as you look then," it said. Gesturing to the door before Naruto could say anything in reply the badger stalled him, "Not here!" It admonished sharply, "Let us enter your mind first where everyone and their aunts might not be listening in on us…"

Not at all comfortable with what the badger had implied by its last words, Naruto quickly stepped through the open door. With the summons following him in Naruto was quick to close the door behind them both. As soon as he did, the door winked out of existence.

Turning back to address the badger, Naruto found the creature as it was studying the insane mixture of memories Naruto had left to guard the room.

Realizing that the supernatural being might be more than a little bit uncomfortable with the aura of Kyubi's Room, Naruto was quick to mentally grab a hold of the memories he'd woven into the mix that featured the Kyubi. With a quick mental pull, the Kyubi-memories gave way and all the other memories were loosened from the mix to return back to their original rooms…At least as soon as Naruto got around to opening the door to let them out.

The heavy, insane feeling of the room evaporated within seconds and the ball of chakra-coils and the seals covering the floor instantly returned to their neutrally coloured glow as the red glow they'd previously had vanished.

The badger took a cautious look around before it turned to give Naruto an inscrutable look. "Impressive," was all it said.

Naruto opened his mouth to enquire further about what they'd been talking about before they'd entered his mind, but the badger began to talk again, beating him to it.

"That is the reason of why you probably won't have to worry about having your spirit eaten while you travel around unescorted in the border-realm," the badger said as it indicated the enormous glowing ball of chaotic chakra-coils.

Naruto blinked, completely nonplussed. "What? My chakra-potential?" he asked incredulously, "I can't even use all that power properly yet," he said in open exasperation.

"Not the chakra-coils, you two-legged buffoon," the badger rebuffed him, "I'm talking about the core hidden under that awful mess!" it exclaimed in irritation.

Naruto blinked. _What core?_

Easily reading Naruto's obviously oblivious expression, the badger sneered spitefully. "Do you mean to tell me that you haven't even realized what you did to the Nine-Tailed-Demon-Lord when the seal you made was overtaxed?" the badger hissed angrily.

Naruto blinked again. _The Kyubi? I thought he'd been destroyed. Isn't this chakra-ball all that's left of him and his power?_ He voiced his thoughts aloud to the badger.

"You need a lesson in Demonology," the badger complained, "Ignorant two-legged half-wit!"

Deciding to ignore the ill-tempered badger's words and attitude – Naruto didn't want to anger the creature enough that it'd refuse to accept a contract with Hari – Naruto instead focused on the matter at hand.

"Give me a lesson, then," he implored the badger.

Sneering again the badger growled out a foul curse before it again gestured at the glowing ball of chakra-coils in the centre of the room. "All that chakra you have there and all those chakra coils are indeed all that is left of the Demon-Lord's chakra. It's not even his anymore seeing as the seal you created has converted the chakra to be your own already. The only reason that the chakra is trapped in that mighty mess is because the seal you grafted is doing its job. It's releasing the chakra into your system at a safe rate so that the humongous amount of chakra doesn't burn your silly little soul out of existence within the blink of an eye."

Naruto grimaced at the vivid vision his imagination conjured up at the explanation he was hearing from the summons.

"Still," the badger continued, "even though the Demon-Lord might've lost its chakra, it isn't completely gone, and I'm not saying that because the Nine-Tails of this time-period still exists."

_Do__es _everyone _know about my time-travel-fiasco? _Naruto wondered exasperatedly when the badger's words finally registered completely. As a result Naruto's eyes widened in horror and disbelief. "What?"

He had thought that the Kyubi would cease to exist if it lost all its chakra. That had been the theory of the Yondaime, the Sandaime and later even the Godaime. Heck! That had been the whole point with the seal the Yondaime had created to once and for all capture, contain and destroy the horrible beast.

Giving Naruto a look foul enough to stop a lion in its tracks, the badger wordlessly ordered Naruto to keep silent and _listen_.

"A demon isn't made up of only chakra, you silly little human. No spirit is, weather it be a human, a demon, a summons or a ghost," it explained. "Did you perhaps have any chakra while you were wandering around in the astral-realm?" the badger asked. It obviously didn't expect Naruto to answer as it continued on instantly. "No, of course you didn't. In the border-realm you were the substance of your _will_ and _consciousness_ cloaked in the form of a human because that is what you perceive yourself to be.

"What remains of the great Demon-Lord once all its chakra has been removed can be found at the centre of that huge ball of chakra and coils." The badger smirked mirthlessly as it threw Naruto a piercing look. "You, my silly little bi-legged mortal, have the dubious honour of housing the insanely hateful and angry _will_ of the now no-longer Nine-Tailed-Demon-Lord within your puny little mortal body." A fanged grin escaped the vicious maw of the badger. "Now, don't you feel lucky?"

The walls of the room they were in actually trembled as the terror Naruto suddenly felt began to wreak havoc on his mind.

_What if the Kyubi possessed him? What if it got free now that the Yondaime's seal no longer existed to contain it?__ What if…?!_

"Calm yourself, mortal!" the badger reprimanded him as the room began to take on a sickly red glow. Naruto was horrified to realise that the glow once again emanated from the centre of the huge ball of chakra-coils. Nearly instantly, the seals surrounding and binding the coils took on the same blood-red glow.

Having a very vague idea of what was happening; Naruto took a deep breath as he exerted an inhumane effort at containing and reducing his own fear and terror.

The red glow reseeded and the room slowly stopped shaking.

Apparently understanding the source of Naruto's fear, the badger deigned to actually attempt to comfort him. "What you need to understand above all is that this is your mind. Your will is naturally stronger here than the Demon-Lord's could ever really be and you are the one with the power and the chakra. What just happened now, the red glow; that was the Demon-Lord exerting its will on your chakra and mind while you were too distracted to have proper control yourself. Had the Demon-Lord been in full possession of its former chakra, you'd have a lot more to worry about. I suspect your will wouldn't have matter squat to it then."

"Could… could Kyubi ever manage to fully possess me? Now, I mean?" Naruto asked in a weak voice.

Throwing Naruto an incredulous look the badger gave the answer as if it was obvious.

"Of course."

Naruto felt like panicking again.

"…But only if you actually gave it permission," the Badger continued. "That is to say if you directly and actively give him the permission by reducing your will over it, or if you indirectly give him the permission by being too preoccupied to exert the stronger amount of will over the Demon-Lord's.

"Kind of like what you just did a moment ago," the badger added cheerfully.

"Oh, Kami!" Naruto moaned in both exasperation and as a prayer.

"What about when I'm travelling in the astral-realm?" Naruto asked, "Will the Kyubi be able to possess me while my own will and consciousness is out of my mind?"

"No" the badger summons answered immediately, "and no, I cannot tell you why it is so."

Naruto regarded the badger sceptically. "Cannot because you don't know, or because-"

"I cannot." The badger repeated.

"Oh…"

"Look on the bright side," the badger added with vicious cheerfulness. "What I was trying to say from the beginning of this conversation was that no spirit would be insane or suicidal enough to actually devour the spirit and will that imprisons all the anger and hate of the Great-Demon-Lord. I suspect not even the Kami would be willing to release the Lord's will into freedom again any time soon."

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**08:53 local time**

Naruto stepped out of the workroom. The light of the morning had long since begun to stream through the windows of the shop.

He was tired beyond belief and incredibly weary. He very much doubted that he'd be able to do much this day. Even sleep seemed beyond him.

The discoveries he'd made during the night's venture into the astral-plane churned through him and his mind was both exhausted and chaotic.

Distantly he wondered how stable his sanity actually was at this moment in time.

As he ascended the stairs and entered his bedroom his eyes caught the lithe figure that embodied _yet _another reason of why his sanity was hanging from a very thin thread.

Sleepy silver-grey eyes blinked up at him as he closed the door behind him.

Somehow, the silence in the room unsettled him. The figure of Hari's sleep-ruffled form was too serene and Naruto couldn't help but feel that he'd just entered the period of calm before the storm.

"Hari-chan," he greeted her silently, at a loss of anything to say to her.

Memories of the night they'd spent together suddenly awoke in his mind and even if he could now remember all the very good reasons of why they shouldn't have done what they did, he still couldn't quite bring himself to care, or even regret their actions.

"Inu-kun," she greeted him, just as silently and Naruto mentally cursed the fact that she was calling him by the name of a lie.

Hari, completely oblivious to his rattled mind, let her eyes glide over him slowly. They came to rest on the rolled-up scroll Naruto clutched in his right hand. His knuckles were white with the pressure he exerted on his grip.

"Oh…" was all she managed to say.

Naruto grunted to clear his suddenly clogged-up throat. "I… I need your blood in order to finalise the contract," he said. "You'll also have to learn the hand-seal sequence to activate it…" he trailed off.

The moments that passed were infinite and dreamlike. Nothing seemed to matter much anymore.

Once Naruto had let the badger see all his memories and impressions of Hari, the creature hadn't hesitated a second before it had accepted her as a worthy summoner. It had taken Naruto the rest of the night and hours into the morning to design and finally graft the contract to perfection. Now Hari only had to sign her name on the contract with her chakra-enhanced blood and after that, it would be ready for use.

Despite the peculiar temperament of the badger that Naruto had met and spoken to, Naruto thought the Badger Summons to somehow fit her personality perfectly.

The process of getting Hari to sign the contract was finalised in a couple of minutes and after teaching her the hand-seals and the full process of activating the contract-scroll, they both sat together in silence for a while.

Finally Hari broke the silence as she was wont to do when she'd thought through a specific situation or problem for a while.

"I won't ever see you again after this, will I?" she asked silently, her head bowed and her eyes fixed on the stained kitchen table.

They'd relocated to the kitchen in order to have better light while she signed the contract.

Naruto sighed heavily as he gazed out the kitchen window. "Maybe… but most likely not," he answered noncommittally. After all, who knew what the future would bring? Except infuriating Summons unable to speak of it that is…

The street below was bustling with activity. Spring had started a little over two months ago and life seemed to have gotten back to its busy tracks.

"This is more final than us never meeting each other again because of father's orders, isn't it?" she tried again.

Naruto glanced briefly at her but otherwise didn't answer.

Hari pursed her lips. "I see," she said, and she probably did see. After a year she was nearly as good at reading Naruto as he was at reading her and that was while he'd spend the entire year here acting as a person with a slightly different personality than his own.

"I know I said I didn't care…" she started again "…last night I mean, but… could you answer me a question truthfully just once?"

Naruto finally turned away from the window to focus all of his attention on her. "That depends on the question," he said.

Hari's hands fisted angrily where she had them clenched on the table, but otherwise she didn't do anything else. "Do you really care for me?" she asked then and just a little bit of desperation seeped into her voice, "and maybe… do you maybe even love me, or was that a lie too?"

Feeling himself tearing up Naruto fought the sting in his eyes frantically as he shook his head. "Oh, Hari… of course I care for you and I damn myself for it every day…"

She was the one to look away then and she swallowed heavily as she absorbed his answer. "Good," she finally said, her voice hard and decisive, "good, you _should_ damn yourself."

Silence fell again as none of them had the heart to say much of anything after speaking and hearing such hurtful words.

They sat together then, in silence the entire day until the night finally began to set. It seemed a bizarre form of goodbye, but somehow they could still both draw comfort and strength from each-others company.

When the sun had just reached the top of the lower buildings, Hari once again broke the silence and her voice was horse from both emotion and disuse. "Tell me your name, your true name and I'll answer you one single question that you want to know about my father's plans," she said.

Blinking at her, Naruto regarded her silently for a few minutes before he let his eyes transform into the clearest of sapphire-blues for just a second before his eyes were the usual sky-blue she'd grown to know and treasure.

"My name's Naruto," he said and the words felt thick and unnatural on his tongue.

"What is your father's next assassination target in the country of Fire?" he asked in return, stating his price for the answer she'd received.

She closed her eyes slowly, painfully, as all that she'd probably suspected since last night was confirmed to her with a clarity that couldn't be denied by doubts or hopes or foolish feelings.

_Yes_, he'd told her, _I'm a traitor to _you_. I'm a spy. I'm _the _spy your father's looking for and now I've chosen my country over you._

"The Daimyo," she answered finally, her voice a breathy whisper.

Naruto nodded as he turned back to look out the window again. The shadows were stretching and darkening as night began to fall.

"I'll give you a week to get out of the village," she said decisively before she rose, pushing the chair away from her with a grating noise as it slid over the wooden floor.

Naruto followed her downstairs without saying a word and as soon as her lithe form left the threshold of his shop's door – leaving the doorbell to tinkle gently – Naruto began to rush around to get everything ready for his departure.

He had no time to loose.

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Naruto wasn't too surprised when an armed and battle-ready ANBU appeared in his shop thirty minutes after Hari's departure.

It was to be expected.

Despite what she'd said, he was still a threat to her village and her home and he knew for a fact that she loved Iwa just as much as he loved Konoha.

He'd betrayed her first and now she'd betrayed him.

The ANBU didn't say anything, the special-operator simply attacked.

Naruto smiled sadly. He thought of broken promises, shattered hopes and unfulfilled dreams as he activated the wards he'd incorporated into the building. More than a hundred hidden explosion seals detonated simultaneously.

The explosion was big enough to light up the entire village for a brief moment and for hours after that the shinobi in the village had to do their best to contain and put out the fires that had spread to the neighbouring buildings.

More than fifty civilians – families with husbands, wives and children – were burned alive or killed in their sleep as a result of suffocation from the toxic-gasses released in the fire. Under a dozen survived with serious burns.

Five shinobi were killed, the ANBU that had arrived to apprehend Naruto included. The others were ones that had been too close to the shop while they waited outside for the ANBU to bring out the spy.

In addition to the ANBU they found another burned and charred corpse within the store's walls. The height and build of the body was estimated to be accurate to what the spy had been reported to be. The remains were too badly burned to attempt a DNA test.

Through it all, the attempted capture of the spy, the resulting explosion, fire and panic, the daughter of the Tsuchikage stood as still as a statue at the border of it all, watching with eyes as still and as blank as a pond frozen in winter.

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A/N: This is the longest chapter I've ever written and I'm not sure if I'll ever write one as huge as this again later on. As it is my hands ache something awful and I'm suffering from lack of sleep.


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